Hotwired
by savannavansmutsmut
Summary: Geeky robotic bio-engineer Edward Cullen decided to build his dream girl, modeling her after his high school crush, Bella Swan. His equally geeky and genius brother, Emmett, messed with her programming. Why else would his bot be acting so strangely...
1. Chapter 1

**Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma**

 **Chapter 1: Girls are…programmable?**

 **EDWARD**

I wiped the burning sweat from my eyes. I hated the medication I used for my bad complexion. It always irritated my eyes so badly when I would sweat, but it had cleared up my acne nicely. I shifted the desk fan, so it would blow over to my work table, hoping to curb some of the sweating. I was too close to finishing my project to stop and wipe my eyes every few minutes.

I had been sneaking pieces from the lab I worked at for years. No one thought anything of it. I had just finished my second robot. Yes, second, the first had been modeled after a supermodel, Ms. Rosalie Hale. The night before I could get to it, my stupid brother had. I had made the on and off switch on this one much harder to find and added some defensive code. The stupid jerk had defiled Rosalie before I'd had a chance to do it. In the end, it was for the best. No one would've believed she would want to be with me. I doubted I could've even convinced myself of the lie.

I decided to make my more realistic fantasy come true instead. I had modeled this one after Bella Swan. She and I had gone to high school together. She had never noticed me, but I would bet if she had, she would've been nice to me. She had asked me once if she could borrow a number two pencil. When I'd handed her my mechanical pencil from my pocket protector, she had smiled at me and said thank you, like she really meant it.

I touched the pencil. It was nearly ten years old, but I had kept it. It stayed safe in my pocket protector, right by my heart.

Bella Swan, my first crush, my first love, would be my first. I brushed her hair back and smiled at her stiff form on the table. I knew once I turned her on, her program would make her love me instantly. She'd act just like real-life Bella, except for one thing. She'd notice me.

I reached down and turned her on. Her eyes opened, and she looked right at me and smiled. "Edward," she said, knowing me immediately.

"Hello, Bella." I helped her to sit up on the table. "Do you mind if I run a few tests on you? I want to make sure you're functioning properly."

"Of course you can," she answered, smiling that perfect smile.

If it had been the real Bella Swan smiling at me like that, I would've run from the room hyperventilating, but with Bella bot, I was smooth. I squeezed her knee. I had put sensors in all the erogenous zones to make the experience more lifelike. I'd have to actually participate in foreplay and get her ready, before I could lose my virginity to her. Emmett said fucking a bot didn't count, but Bella bot was much more than a bot. I thought it might count. Besides, he was one to talk. He had taken my Rosalie bot up to his room. He kept her in his closet…and he thought I was the freak!

I tried out all of her reflexes and functions. She seemed to be running properly. I checked a couple of her erogenous zones to see if they worked properly. Her eyes dilated, and the flesh sensors pinked, like a blush, letting me know I was achieving my goal. I had the foreplay planned out in my head. I'd done extensive research to make sure I could maximize my experience by setting off her orgasm program. Like men with real women, that was my ultimate goal.

Emmett insisted it would feel more realistic and satisfying if I played the part and picked her up at a bar. After some convincing, I had agreed to it. I knew it was safe, because she was programmed to only love me. Emmett knew that and didn't even try to engage her at the lab. He was content with his Rosalie bot, anyways. I knew my Bella bot was safe.

I arrived at the agreed upon bar before Emmett, so my Bella could seek me out when he released her. She would make the first move in public. The anticipation of a beautiful woman choosing to be in my presence in public was exciting.

I was a little surprised, when my Bella entered with another man. He was big and handsome. I would've been worried, if I hadn't pre-programmed her. She outright slapped him, and I smiled. I had originally put that code in to keep Emmett away from her.

The behemoth called her a few choice names, and she stormed over to the counter and took the stool next to mine. I had programmed her to be passionate, but I hadn't expected it to transfer over to her defense system. I noticed she was wearing a different outfit than what I had put on her earlier, something much sexier, and she looked hot. All the men in the bar were looking at her, making me look even luckier that she had chosen to sit next to me. I would have to thank Emmett for thinking of that.

I had a few trigger lines that would make it look like I was actually engaging her in polite conversation, before we left together. It was all just for show, but exciting nonetheless.

"Hello, Bella. I'm Edward Cullen. We had a couple of classes in high school together. You borrowed my pencil in biology." I touched the pencil in my pocket protector. It was a subtle move that was meant to engage physical contact.

She tipped her head to the side, and I wondered if she was malfunctioning. "You do look familiar. Were you in my French class as well?"

"Yes, yes I was." I was a little excited that she was able to pull the history up on her own at random. I touched her shoulder lightly. "I can't help but notice you had an altercation. Are you alright?"

She looked for the ape, but when she didn't see him, she took a less defensive pose. I dropped my hand to her knee, but didn't move it up at all. I didn't want to start anything in the bar. "I think he left," she said.

"That's good. I don't want to see you in distress." I squeezed her knee, and she surprised me by patting my hand and taking it in hers.

"I'll be okay, so what have you been up to, Edward Cullen?"

"I work at a robotics actuation laboratory as a Bio-engineer."

"That sounds really...well, I'm not sure what you said, but it sounded like you build robots."

I took her hand in both of mine, thrilled that she was using her pedestal setting, making me sound interesting to those who might overhear our conversation. "Yes, that's exactly what I do. It's very exciting. What do you do?"

I had considered giving her a sexy job, like a stripper, but decided something more subtle would be more believable. I ended up confused by her answer, though. "I'm actually between jobs."

When she spoke, she looked sad, and I rubbed her arm to play supportive. "I'm sorry, is there some way I can help?"

"I could use a place to crash tonight. My friend will be back in town tomorrow. That jerk kicked me out, because I wouldn't have a threesome."

My eyes widened, and I planned my revenge on Emmett. He had obviously messed with her program again, and it pissed me off. "I'm so sorry. I promise that will never be an issue. You're welcome to stay at my place this evening, if that's what you need." She must have been altering her damsel in distress program to come up with that story. I had added it for fun, just in case I ever wanted to role play with her. Of course, it had translated in an odd way this evening. I'd be saving her from the behemoth, but I didn't have to actually face him. For that, I was grateful.

"I usually wouldn't take a virtual stranger up on such an offer, but I feel like I kind of know you, since we went to school together."

My smile widened, and I patted the top of her leg gingerly. "That's wonderful. I'll call us a cab."

She grabbed a bag, which I didn't recognize. I worried that she had picked it up from somewhere, but I didn't want to make a scene of it. I decided I would look through it later and return it to its owner, after I had achieved coitus.

I had planned the event to take place while my mother was out of town, and I was relieved to find Emmett was also M.I.A. I led her up to my bedroom. I didn't stay in it often, since there was a couch in my lab, so my room and bed sheets were clean. "This is my room. You can stay in here this evening. I hope it's satisfactory."

She looked around and touched a few of my books. Then she checked out some of the earlier prototypes I had made when I was a kid. "Have you always been this smart?"

"Smart is a relative term, but I believe the answer is yes, in the context you're implying it."

She turned around, giving me a huge smile. "You're a very sweet gentleman, Edward. You're such a breath of fresh air compared to what I've been dealing with over the past few years. Tell me, Edward, do you have a girlfriend?"

I shook my head no, unsure of how her programming had translated into this conversation. She flopped down on my bed. "Have you ever had a girl in your bed?"

I shook my head no.

"How about in your room?"

I shook my head no again.

Her eyes raked over my body in a somewhat unsettling way. I was supposed to be the one who initiated the intimate interactions, and she was taking it over.

"Bella, if you wish to engage in coitus, I'd like to take charge of it myself. I think it'll be easier for me to give you an orgasm that way." My face was flaming red by the end of the sentence, and my eyes were focused firmly on the floor. I didn't know why I was freaking out so much about talking to my robot. I just had to keep reminding myself that she wasn't a real girl.

I heard her giggle and wondered what the hell was going on with her. I was worried she was malfunctioning, but she crossed the room and caused me to forget it all with one touch. "You're a take charge kind of guy, huh?"

I nodded my head. "Yes, if we're to engage in a sexual act, I'd like to be in charge of your pleasure…I need to be in charge of your pleasure…it's only appropriate, as foreplay is key to preparation of a woman's body for penetration," I gulped hard, still baffled that I felt so nervous.

"That sounds so hot in some sick, twisted way. I'm very tempted to try out your foreplay skills."

"I'm very well equipped with the knowledge of your erogenous zones, so if you'd like to begin..." I waved my hand toward the bed, inviting her to lie down, doing my best not to shake like leaf.

"Why not," she let out another giggle, as she bounced onto my bed. I cleared my throat and fought the bundle of nerves twisting in my gut.

It was time to begin. I had programmed her to respond more vividly when I triggered more points, and I decided it would be best for my ego to get her to scream my name. Doing such would hopefully give me more self-confidence in my skills with live women. I removed my shoes and socks in preparation to avoid any awkward delays.

I started at her feet, carefully taking off her shoes and massaging each foot thoroughly. I had her moaning my name already. "Edward, you're already showing a lot of promise."

I worked my way up her legs, massaging as I went. I popped the button of her jeans, but I didn't try to remove them. I gently rolled her over and rubbed her back and buttocks.

"God, you're so freaking good," she mumbled into the pillow. I inched her shirt up and off her body, gently caressing her arms as I went. I kneaded her neck and back, as I kissed down her spine, only pausing to unhook her bra.

I started to gently shift her jeans and panties off her hips, massaging and kissing as I went. I took my time on her butt, because I'd been fantasizing about that for years. Once it was sufficiently kissed, nuzzled and nipped, I worked her jeans down her legs, rubbing and kissing as I went. I was impressed with how her flesh had turned out. It was so realistic and had an odd human flavor that was very arousing. I had filled her with a compound to simulate vaginal fluids, and it seemed like it had permeated her faux flesh. She tasted like a real human, and I was thrilled with the experience.

I rolled her onto her back again, and after another short foot rub, I kissed, nipped and licked my way to her inner thigh. She was panting hard, and her flesh was bright with her pink hue, like I had planned. It was proof that I was hitting the programmed marks.

I engaged in oral sex and tested her with my fingers. She tasted like a tart strawberry, which was just what I was aiming for. She dug her fingers into my hair, undulating her hips and orgasmed rather quickly. I was definitely surprised at how the fluid had transformed the interior cavity.

I took off my shirt and went back to nibbling her hips and belly, as I removed my bottom clothing. Once I was fully naked, I continued my path up her body to the final piece of clothing. Her bra had been unhooked, but not removed. Studies showed it was a very tender zone, as well as being directly connected to the clitoris. I kissed up her body, under her breasts and finally nudged the material out of the way with my nose, before I took her breast into my mouth.

Her fingers dug into my hair and shoulder, as she cried out my name. I was almost certain I'd be able to give her an internal orgasm during penetration like I had hoped.

After both breasts had ample attention, I moved up to her neck and ear. The shift in my body's position provided the opportunity for penetration. I took advantage of our position and pressed into her, as I kissed her lips for the first time, fulfilling two dreams at once. I stilled my body and tried to refrain from ejaculating too quickly. I had prepared before our bar excursion, in hopes of staying off the execution.

I enjoyed the way she held me against her. Her hands moved freely, and she squirmed beneath me, seeking friction. My lips worked their way back to her neck, and I began to move inside her. I propped myself up with one arm and used the other to continue stimulation of her erogenous zones. I loved the way she was reacting to my touch. It truly added to my experience. I was determined to get that orgasm out of her, to maximize my experience. I knew I was doing well, because she was getting louder and gripping me harder with each pump of my hips.

Her legs shifted, wrapping around my waist, affecting my position. To my great pleasure, I achieved my goal. She reached climax, and the "milking" of my cock was extremely pleasant. I looked forward to doing that again.

We were both panting hard, as I collapsed on the bed next to her. It almost seemed like she needed actual air to breathe.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said you knew what you were doing."

"Yes, well, I studied up on it. You're pleasure further enhances my experience as well."

She rolled onto her side, so she could look down at me. "You got that right."

She startled me, when she leaned down and nipped at my nipple. The sensation was oddly arousing, and I didn't know whether to kill Emmett or thank him for messing with her programming.

She nudged me over and rested her head on me. I had heard of snuggling after sex, but I hadn't program it in. I had been worried she'd need to recharge after excessive exertion. I realized it must have been another thing Emmett had added to the experience for me. I knew he had completely reprogrammed and enhanced his Rosalie. For him to take the time to pop in a few extra lines of code for me was nice. He could be a real jerk sometimes, but at other times, he could be a really great brother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma**

 **Chapter 2: Girls are…real?**

When I woke the next morning, my Bella bot wasn't there. I assumed she had realized she was running low and had gone to recharge herself. It was much later in the day than I had expected. I smelled breakfast cooking, and I wondered if my mother was home.

She had left to visit her sister, Aunt Margaret, a couple of weeks ago. She had made sure we could do some basic tasks before she left, such as wash our laundry, but we didn't always get it right, and the folding aspect of it could be very time consuming. Both Emmett and I had better and more important things to do. Her absence had made us truly appreciate her. We were barely functioning without her. If it wasn't for Emmett's mild interest in cooking, we would have starved to death or died by food poisoning. We even found the can opener difficult to use, and I ended up making one that was a sure thing. I never had to worry about how the can was positioned under the blade.

I found Emmett in the kitchen making my favorite pancakes. He seemed to have a worried expression on his face. I was sure he was missing our mom, too, not to mention he probably thought I would be pissed about him messing with my Bella bot's programming. I wasn't mad, though. I wanted to thank him.

I plopped down on a kitchen chair, and he slid a plate of food to me carefully, like he thought I'd bite him or something.

After I'd eaten half of my breakfast, Emmett stopped me.

"So, are you stewing and going to kill me when I least expect it or what?"

I laughed at his dramatics. "No, I want to thank you."

"Thank me?" He sounded so shocked.

"For the change of plans, it was unexpected, but yeah, thanks."

His brow furrowed, and he backed away from me. "Sure…yeah…you're…welcome." He took off running out of the kitchen like the weirdo he was.

When I finished my food and cleaned up, I headed down to my lab in the basement. I was surprised to find him down there with my Bella bot. He was fixing her hair, which was just silly.

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing, nothing, just…ah…making sure she got charged right, you know. So, ah, are you making a robot dog next?"

I laughed, he was always asking for robot pets. Doctor Who had a robot dog originally, and Emmett thought we needed a sidekick to keep us from getting our butts kicked.

"Sure, why not."

He clapped his hands and pointed at me with both of them, "Yes, do that." He ran out of the room, most likely to his lab in the attic.

I had the basement, he had the attic. Our labs were different, but very similar at the same time. He was into computer programming at a very deep level. He worked for a defense department, but he couldn't say which. His job was to track down bad guys and give the information to who he worked for. He was also constantly writing new viruses to attack things, but never said what.

He did cheer when a foreign enemy's power plant burned out, though, shouting, "Yeah, now that's what I'm talkin' about. No bombs for you!" I suspected he'd had something to do with that, because immediately afterwards, he looked at me wide-eyed and said, "You saw nothing," wiggling his fingers, like he could magic the image of him cheering away. Yeah, he was a bigger geek than me.

Work was hectic over the next few days, so I hadn't had a chance to spend more time with my Bella bot. We were perfecting prosthetic limbs. We had them to the point of looking and feeling just like human flesh, my Bella bot was proof of that. Our biggest challenge was attaching the limb to the body in such a natural way that you wouldn't know it was fake, even when it was exposed naked. Human flesh was a very delicate thing. It could be torn and damaged so easily, it was a bit unsettling.

It was Friday, and I was glad for the break. I was hoping to find some time to spend with my Bella bot again. I was frustrated that I'd be busy doing housework this weekend. My mother had let us know on Wednesday that she wasn't sure if or when she'd be back from Aunt Margaret's. Apparently, she was considering moving in with her permanently. Emmett was crushed...okay, we both were. We missed our mom and how well she took care of us. It was very frightening when she told us to look into getting a housekeeper.

I was just finishing up on my dog frame, when Emmett came charging down the stairs, frantic. "She called, oh god, we're gonna die!"

"What?"

"Mom, she's moved out! She moved out! It'd been her plan all along. I went to find something in her room to hold hostage and make her come back, but it's gone, Edward, it's all gone!"

"That can't be right. She only took three suitcases to Aunt Margaret's, and she said two were full of gifts." I rushed up the stairs and darted down the hall to my mother's room. We never went in there. She called it her sanctuary, her version of our basement and attic.

The bed was still made, the furniture was a bit dusty, but everything looked fine. I didn't know what Emmett was freaking out about. Then he flung open the closet door. I fell to my knees. "Oh, my God, Emmett, she's gone." The closet was completely empty. Not even her keepsake boxes were left behind. "The bathroom, check the bathroom!" I shouted.

The linens were still stacked neatly on the shelf, there seemed to be a fresh untouched bar of soap and shampoo. It gave us hope. We darted for the medicine cabinet, and our hearts sank. There were a couple of new closed bottles of painkillers and fresh packaged toothbrushes, but nothing else.

"Her pills, Edward, where are her prescription?"

"They're gone." My chest was tightening.

"The dresser, she could've left something in her dresser!" He darted out of the bathroom, but I heard him cry out, "NO!"

Our mother had left us. She had called us her babies for the past twenty some odd years, and now she had just left us. I wanted to curl up on the floor and cry. In fact, that was exactly what I did.

My stomach growled, sometime around lunch. I'd missed breakfast, and by the look on Emmett's face, he had, too.

We were nibbling on sandwiches, when our doorbell rang. We looked at it confused. "Are you expecting a package?"

I shook my head no. "Girl scout," I guessed.

"Oh, cookies!" Emmett took off running to the door, but after a moment, he started shouting, "Edward, Edward!" His voice rose to a panicked squeal.

I rushed down the hall, grabbing the broom as I passed. "I'll save you!"

When I stepped into the living room, I froze. My Bella bot was standing there in the doorway, and I was pissed at Emmett for playing a joke on me. "Emmett, that's not funny."

He shook his head at me and squeaked, "She's real." He pulled out his inhaler, taking a few deep puffs, but pointed to her elbow. There was a scrape with a red scab. My eyes rolled back in my head, and I passed out.

"He seemed fine the other night," I heard an angel speak.

"He was most likely drunk. He can't talk to women unless he's sedated."

"He didn't seem drunk."

"Oh, believe me, he wouldn't have talked to you sober. He had a crush on you all through school and never said a word to you."

"Why not?"

"You see him unconscious on the couch, right? He can't talk to women, never has, never will."

I realized I wasn't having a nightmare, and my brother was actually talking. I started to wake up a little more.

"Here he comes, he's waking up. I've got your pills. You just have to hold it together long enough to get them down," he tried to coax me. "You should probably step out. Why don't you hang out in the kitchen? We'll catch up with you once he's sufficiently drugged."

When her footsteps left the room, I opened my eyes, completely embarrassed.

"Quick, pop it in." Emmett shoved the pill into my mouth, and I tried to swallow it dry. Thankfully, he had a glass of water ready, and I guzzled it down. "Just hang out here a few minutes until your pill kicks in. I'll keep her busy."

I nodded, not able to speak yet. I didn't know for sure, but it seemed like I had lost my virginity for real, to a girl, a real girl, and I was having a hard time wrapping my head around that.

After a few deep breaths and a moment for my medicine to kick in, I finally joined Emmett and Bella in the kitchen. Emmett was staring at Bella's breasts, and she was playing with her phone. I smacked the back of Emmett's head, and he jumped, falling off of the barstool.

"Feeling better?" she asked with a bright smile.

My windpipe swelled, so I grabbed my inhaler, taking a couple of deep puffs. She frowned, taking a few steps closer to me. I closed my eyes, taking in a few more deep breaths, hoping to keep from passing out.

I felt a light pressure on my mouth and hands cradle my face. My eyes popped open, and I saw Bella was kissing me. I stumbled back, my eyes wide. I bent forward, bracing my hand on my knees, as I fought to breathe, sounding like a rabid goose honking like mad.

"Emmett, is he alright?" She sounded so worried.

Her arms wrapped around me, and I let her lead me to my room. My god, she knew where my room was, because she'd been in it. It had really happened.

She laid me down on the bed and brushed my messy hair off my face. "Edward, please settle down. I need you. You can't help me if you can't be around me. I don't want to kill you. I need your help."

Her distress took my focus, and my lungs filled with air and concern. "I'll help...anything," I offered.

Her eyes settled on my pocket protector. "Is that really the pencil you let me borrow in high school, or is that just a pickup line?"

I blushed, but she didn't seem like she was teasing me. She pulled it from my pocket protector and rolled it in her fingers. She pulled the whole protector from my pocket and seemed to be examining the contents.

"It is, isn't it?"

It was pretty obvious. The pencil itself was empty of lead. When it ran out, I didn't want to risk breaking it by refilling it. I had regular mechanical pencils and a few cool pens I used on a daily basis, but that one always sat in a little side compartment, away from the others and safe.

I worried she'd find it creepy. "Sorry, I'm weird." I didn't know why I said that, but I did. It came out before I could stop it.

She looked up at me and smiled. "Yeah, you are, but I think it's in a good way."

It seemed like I was finally getting my breathing under control. She slipped the protector back in my shirt and smiled up at my face. "So, do you think you can handle helping me?" she asked worried.

I nodded yes. "I told you, anything." She kept touching my hair, and I noticed she looked sad. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know. I need a place to stay, and I need to find a job."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?"

I nodded again, trying to find a way to formulate a proposition that would make her consider moving into my mother's room. "My mom is gone."

"Gone?" She looked worried. I knew she suspected that she was dead.

"She moved away, and now we don't have a housekeeper. She just left us to fend for ourselves," I said appalled.

She gave me a knowing smile. "When did she leave?"

"Nearly three weeks ago. I've done my own laundry, and Emmett cooks. I don't know if we can do this much longer. How can I focus on my work and clean the bathroom? She said to get a housekeeper. She left her room, and it's empty, but not. The closet and the dresser are, but there are blankets on the bed and towels and soap and even toothbrushes. She set it all up and left us, she just left." I realized I was crying, when she wiped the tears from my cheek.

"So you need a housekeeper?"

I nodded yes, and she gave me a soft smile and kissed my forehead.

"This housekeeping job comes with a room and a bed?"

I nodded my head yes again.

"Do you think you can handle me being around all the time? Will you be able to breathe and not pass out?"

I frowned.

She surprised me, when she lay down next to me on the bed. Her fingers were still twining in my hair and distracting me, until her leg hitched over my body. "I want to kiss you, Edward. I don't know what you took the other night that made you able to handle being with me, but I want you to take it again."

My breathing sped up again.

"Maybe if we just took it off like a Band-Aid," she said smirking.

She was up over me, and I wasn't sure what she planned on doing to me. I took another puff on my inhaler, and while I was doing that, she whipped me out of my pants and into her mouth. I flexed up into her body and lost it instantly, embarrassingly fast.

Her hand was still on my penis, when my bedroom door opened. Emmett stood wide-eyed and focused on where her hand was. I pulled the blanket up over me, and his eyes snapped to mine. "Holy shit, you had sex with a girl!" He pointed at her. "You had sex with him," he accused her.

Bella giggled.

I sat up, and Bella surprised me by shifting, so she was next to me. My quick release didn't seem to bother her.

"Edward was just telling me that you needed a housekeeper, and it came with a room."

Emmett's eyes were still focused on the blanket that covered me. He pointed at it. "You…she…huh?" He looked at her confused.

His stupidity was nothing new and a bit unsettling at the moment. "She's our new housekeeper," I explained.

"With sex?" he asked.

"No," she said firmly. "I'm not a hooker."

"She can have mom's room. She's gonna stay." I looked at her, worried I had misunderstood. "Right?"

She nodded her head at me. "Yeah, I'm gonna stay."

I let out a relieved breath and smiled huge.

"That's all fine and dandy, but what about what's in the basement, Edward? Did you think about that? What if she goes in your basement? What do you think she's gonna say when she see what's in there?" he said behind his hand, like it would stop her from hearing him.

I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but it slowly sank in, and my eyes widened. "In my basement, oh crap!"

"Exactly!" Emmett waved his arms at me.

"What's in the basement?" she asked us, and we both jumped.

"Nothing," we said in unison. I tried to recover. "It's…ah…"

"His lab has nothing in it," Emmett snapped.

"Lab?" she pushed.

"His lab is downstairs, mine is up. Mom lived in the middle, we sleep and eat here, but our labs…" he looked over at me worried.

"So you don't want me to go in your labs and mess anything up. I get that."

We both nodded yes, glad that she was buying it. I wondered how long it would work. She needed help, and I wasn't going to let my stupidity stop her from receiving it. I would just have to make sure and keep the basement door locked.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Running List**

Things had been going well with Bella in the house. She could cook, though I didn't know what half the crap was she made. I was pretty sure it was edible. We hadn't died yet, and Emmett seemed to recognize the name of the food as real dishes from foreign countries. I just wanted spaghetti. Fast, simple and normal. I just wished I could speak to her. At this point, I was just happy I could breathe when I was in the same room with her. However, I did have to order a refill on my inhaler.

Bella did seem happy, though. As I had stated before, I couldn't actually speak to her, so I couldn't ask if she was happy living with us, but she smiled a lot and would sing and dance while she cooked or cleaned. Even Emmett's creepy staring didn't upset her. I was constantly smacking him upside the head. If my mother had been here, she would have been able to keep him in line. I had half a mind to call her on the phone and tattle on him. If he didn't cut it out, that was just what I would do.

I think Bella might have been my girlfriend, sort of. I'd never had a girlfriend, so I wasn't sure what it entailed, and again, since it was impossible for me to talk to her without having a panic attack, I couldn't ask her. She always sat next to me at dinner and would ask me yes or no questions. A lot more than she ever asked Emmett. She would touch my hand and arm any time we passed each other, and sometimes, if I came out of my lab and she was watching TV, I'd sit next to her, and she'd hold my hand. Also, if my breathing didn't go too crazy, she'd kiss me. Well, at least until I had to use my inhaler. She didn't do any of those things with Emmett, so I knew our relationship was different, it was more. So it was very possible that we were boyfriend and girlfriend. I just wished I could pull myself together enough to actually ask her.

The weekend was coming up, and I'd be able to take a heavier sedative. I had plans to talk to her and a list of questions to ask. I'd been refining my list all week. I couldn't take my good sedatives during the week because of work, but I had the weekends off. I was excited and nervous. I wavered over asking her about being my girlfriend. I didn't want things to change from the way they were now. I really liked kissing her and holding her hand, and I didn't want her to stop. My written list had " _Are you my girlfriend?_ " scratched out and rewritten three times already, and I was about to do it a fourth time, when I was buzzed over the intercom at work. I had a visitor.

I never had visitors. Well, that wasn't true. My mother had brought cupcakes for everyone on my birthday, and Emmett had come by once. He'd wanted me to smuggle an unmentionable out to repair his Rosalie bot. I'd told him I'd take care of it when we got home. I didn't think it was Emmett visiting me, though, and I hadn't heard anything from my mother. It wasn't my birthday, either.

I heard the security door lock click open, and George, our long-time security officer for our floor, led Bella in with a smile. I felt my throat closing up, as I tried to smile back. Bella, the perfect girl she was, pulled my inhaler out of her purse and popped it in my mouth. I took a couple of puffs on it and waved George off, trying to let him know I was fine.

"You forgot your inhaler at home. I didn't know if you needed it at work, but I thought, better safe than sorry, right?" she asked.

I nodded yes enthusiastically, wishing my tongue would move. Her eyes wandered around my lab, and I saw them linger on the appendage I was working on. It looked very real, and the fact I was trying to connect it to an actual cadaver on life support was probably freaking her out. "Is he your patient?" she asked.

The answer was yes and no. Yes, I was trying to attach an arm to his body, but I wasn't trying to save him. He had died of liver cancer. There weren't very many fields of science that could use a body that had been ravaged by cancer and chemo, but I could. I happily took it and was trying to perfect my limb replacement. I wanted to tell her what I was doing, but the words were stuck in my throat.

I finally just walked over to my workbench and picked up the arm I had been working on. She stepped back, when I moved toward her with it, I was sure because she thought it was real. I turned the end toward her, so she could see the metal bone structure and thin wires. Her eyes lit up, and she rushed forward, taking it from my hands.

"It's so heavy and feels so real, like a real arm. Did you make this?"

I nodded yes and waved her over to my bench. I hooked a couple of electrodes up to the wires in the arm and sent a couple of impulses to flex the hand. She jumped and squealed, tossing the arm at me, making me laugh. She laughed at herself, and when I set the arm down, she stepped close, hugging me. I wrapped my arms around her, determined not to have to pull out my inhaler again. I could do this. I could breathe around her. That was until she twined her fingers into my hair and pulled me down for a kiss. Yeah, I totally couldn't breathe through that, though I fought it as long as I could. She always seemed to know when to stop, so I could puff on my inhaler before I passed out. Her smile stayed on her face, as I pulled it out and used it. I was just glad she didn't hate me for needing it constantly.

"This is incredible, Edward," she said looking over at my arm again. "I knew you were a genius, but this is just amazing. I thought you built robots, you know, big metal tin can things, but this is so much cooler."

My grin was so huge it was hurting my face. I thought what I did was cool, but I didn't think anyone else would think so, especially not a pretty girl.

"Do you work on stuff like this down in your lab?" she asked.

I froze. The answer was yes, but I didn't want her snooping down there and finding herself, and not in the metaphysical way.

"I know, I know, the lab at home is top secret. It's cool to see where you work. I'll have to come by again sometime. Would that be alright with you?" she asked.

I nodded yes. I didn't mind her being here at this lab at all. I just hoped being here and seeing what I did would be enough to satisfy her curiosity.

"I'd better get going. Emmett wants me to try my hand at making calamari tonight."

I didn't know what the heck calamari was, and I wasn't looking forward to eating it. I tried to smile in thanks, but I think my grimace showed through

She looked at my expression and laughed. "Don't worry, Edward, I'll make sure it's edible, and if not, there's always cold cereal."

I blushed. She had caught me eating a bowl of cereal after a particularly strange dish had been served for dinner. I didn't remember the name of it, but I hadn't liked it. I'd taken a few polite bites and then pushed it around my plate. I had waited until I'd thought she was asleep, before I'd snuck into the kitchen for a bowl of cereal. I'd eaten a full bowl and was finishing off my second by drinking the milk, when she startled me. "Please, rinse out your bowl before you leave it in the sink."

I had about leapt out of my skin when I'd heard her voice and ended up spraying milk across the table. She'd smiled at me and brought me the paper towels, not commenting on my evening snack. She'd kissed the side of my head and told me goodnight, before she'd left the kitchen with a bottle of water. I honestly was just grateful she hadn't been upset with me. Now it seemed to be a running joke between us.

I led her to my lab door and hit the call button for George. Of course, I realized I couldn't ask him to walk Bella back out, because I couldn't freaking talk! Somehow, though, he read my mind and came to my lab anyways. Bella gave me a quick kiss, and I was shocked by the rowdy catcall from up the hallway. Mike Newton had poked his head out of his lab door for some reason and was acting just as obnoxious as ever.

"Wow, Edward, what a looker!" he shouted down the hall.

Bella laughed and waved at him, before she turned back to me and kissed me again lightly. "I'll see you tonight."

I nodded and waved to her as she left. Man I wished I could speak to her. I was more determined than ever to do it. I was going to drug myself up good this weekend and spend as much time with her as she would allow, so I could get used to speaking around her. Honestly, how could we be in a real relationship if I couldn't communicate with her? I just hoped she would be game to work with me on it this weekend.

I finished up for the day, ready to head home, looking forward to having a meaningful and actual verbal conversation with Bella. I went to grab my list of questions, but I couldn't find them. I searched all over my desk as quickly as I could with no luck. Looking at my watch, I realized I was going to have to wing it and just go. If I didn't leave now, I would be stuck in rush-hour traffic, and I didn't want to waste one moment with Bella I didn't have to.

Emmett met me at the door when I got home. He had a plate of something battered and fried. He held it up giggling. "Guess what we're having for dinner?" he sang at me.

"No idea."

"Squid!" he cheered like an immature maniac. I cringed and groaned, while he wiggled it in my face and then took a big bite out of it. "They're awesome! Bella is so cool. She cooks all sorts of crazy stuff mom wouldn't even touch."

It looked like I was going to be eating cereal again. Emmett started toward his bedroom with his plate. "No food out of the kitchen!" I shouted after him.

"I think you'll want me to take my dinner elsewhere when you see what's in the kitchen."

Hopefully, it wouldn't be anything vomit worthy. I was not looking forward to trying to choke down squid to be nice to Bella.

I walked into the kitchen, and my breath caught. Bella was wearing a sexy red dress, and the table had candles on it and a bottle of wine. I took a couple of puffs on my inhaler.

"The wine is for me, the bottle of pills is for you," she said, pointing to my sedatives. I smiled widely, excited for a quiet dinner alone with her…well, hopefully, not too quiet. I'd really like to talk to her. I just wished I could have found where I had misplaced my list of questions.

I took my pills and sat back in my seat. She was doing something in the kitchen, just out of sight. The squid actually smelled pretty good. I'd bet I could handle eating a couple of pieces with my pills in me. They always made me feel looser and more adventurous. I closed my eyes for a bit, letting the medicine work its magic. I heard her walk back over to the table and set something down in front of me. I opened my eyes, and what I saw made my day.

"Spaghetti," I said much smoother than I felt, but I had spoken, and that was something.

Her smile was wide.

"Yup, spaghetti, I made it just for you," she said, pushing my plate aside and climbing into my lap. I contemplated taking another hit on my inhaler, but I decided to wait it out and see if I could handle our interaction. She started kissing me pretty intensely. I felt it all over, especially where she was grinding down on my lap. I groaned a little, but I was pleased that my medicine was working.

"Do you think we can have sex tonight? I'd really like a repeat of last time," she asked.

I wanted to say yes, but the words were stuck in my throat again. I nodded yes, because heck yeah, I wanted to try to do that again. I was hoping I would be able to. I was still breathing normally, so that was a plus.

When I nodded yes, her grin was huge. "Okay, we'll work on doing that after dinner. You're going to need fuel," she said with a wink.

She sat down next to me and started on her own plate of food. I took a few bites and tried to remember all of my questions. I decided to ask her the few I remembered.

After a few deep breaths, I had gathered up enough courage to actually speak to her. "Can I ask you some questions?"

She looked up from her plate with a smile. "That depends, I may have already answered all your questions."

My brow furrowed, because I hadn't asked her any yet.

She reached into her bra and pulled out a familiar piece of paper. "I saw this had my name on it. I thought it might be easier on you if I just took it and answered them, so you wouldn't have to worry about getting up the courage to do it."

She opened my list and slid it over to me. I had titled it, " _Things to ask Bella_." I must have left it out, when she had come to visit me at work.

I was eager to read all of her answers, but the best one was written in giant letters and surrounded by a heart. She had answered the question, " _Are you my girlfriend?"_ with a big, bold decorated yes.

My heart pounded in my chest, but not from panic. My smile was so huge, it must have been comical. "You're my girlfriend?" I asked. I just had to hear the words from her.

"Only if you're my boyfriend, too."

I nodded yes eagerly.

"Then yes, if you're my boyfriend, it only makes sense that I'm your girlfriend."

I giggled like a giddy idiot. She took my hand and pulled me closer to her, so she could steal a kiss from me.

Then something dawned on me. Did we have the same definition of boyfriend and girlfriend? "Like for real, I'm not just a friend who's a boy?"

"Nope, you're my boyfriend, as in other girls beware, he's mine."

I giggled again and blushed. "Yeah, I'm yours," I agreed.

"You know that means I'm only yours, too, right?"

I didn't think my silly grin could get bigger, but it did. I nodded yes excitedly.

"Good, now finish your dinner. I want you to work that magic you did last time and make me yours again."

My stomach flipped. Panic danced in my tummy, but it didn't take over. How was I going to repeat what I had done last time without freaking out? I was barely keeping it together as it was.

"I'm really looking forward to a repeat performance."

The word repeat stuck in my head. I had done this before. I could do it again. I just had to pretend she was my Bella bot. That was it! That was the key to keeping my cool. She wasn't Bella Swan, she was Bella bot, programmed to love me. I could do this. I could satisfy my girl's needs.

But I figured maybe I should take another dose of my sedatives…just in case.


	4. Chapter 4

**Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma**

 **Chapter 4: Insider**

After dinner, Bella told me she was going to freshen up and slip into something more comfortable. Did that mean get naked? What did she mean by freshen up? I decided it meant brushing your teeth. That was what I was going to do. We had eaten the best spaghetti ever with garlic bread, so my breath could use some freshening. Did it mean putting on an extra layer of deodorant? Should I be showering? I had showered before I had gone to the bar to pick up my Bella bot. I had showered and jacked off. Emmett said I had to in order to last. Oh man, I needed to do it again, but I didn't know if I had time, and I wanted it to be a repeat, not a defeat. I had to take care of myself before she came back, so I could last for her.

I stripped down fast and jumped in the shower. I did scrub myself down with soap, just in case that was what freshening up meant. I really had to find out what it meant. The problem was, I was so stressed I was having a hard time getting things to work for me. I was already failing, and I hadn't even started! Of course, that made me panic more, but I'd already taken my max dose of pills, so I was screwed, and not in a good way.

I felt a cool breeze behind me and looked over my shoulder. Bella was naked, Bella was naked and in the shower with me. Bella was naked and in the shower, and now she was kissing me. I thought it might have been my imagination finally kicking in to help me out, but then she hit her knees and took me into her mouth. I was done for instantly, and she was still there, smiling at me. No, my imagination was definitely not that good.

She grabbed the soap and handed it to me. "Scrub my back, please," she asked so sweetly.

I started to do what she said, but a whole new set of problems came up. I had never studied or planned for a shower with my Bella bot. What were the protocols for it? Was there etiquette I didn't know about? Was it okay to wash her butt? I hoped so, because I wanted to, but I didn't really want her to wash mine. I had already washed mine. Was it okay to tell her that? If I washed her, would she be expecting to wash me in return?

"Stop thinking so hard, Edward. I can see you getting lost in that head of yours again. I want you to scrub me down and get me off, then take me to bed and ravage me like you did before. Can you do that?"

I let out a relieved sigh and nodded yes. That I could do. I was so glad she had clarified it all for me. As far as girlfriends went, she was pretty awesome and seemed just perfect for me. I thanked heaven for her patience with me.

As I touched her body, I mentally chanted Bella bot in my head. I pretended to check the erogenous zones and their responses. I was just doing a routine checkup. At least that was what I was telling myself. My Bella bot's programmed responses were spot on, if not a bit more enthusiastic. I decided to lie to myself and believe that Emmett had reprogrammed my Bella bot to be more responsive. Yup, that was it. She was a bot, not a real girl, and I could do what I had planned to do for months with her. I'd set off all of her erogenous zone sensors and make her orgasm hard, so it would be good for me, too. Yes, that was all that was going on.

I mentally repeated my lies, as I led her to my bed. I didn't have to undress her this time, but I decided I would dry her off instead. Yup, just plan ol' scientific me, checking my bot's responses I told myself, as I dried and massaged her back, then I kissed down it. I was just inspecting her skin tone and her connections. I was checking to see if I had stocked her bodily fluid right. Yes, it was just my Bella bot I was working over and making scream my name. I could do this. I would follow the plan I'd had all along and make it good for her, so it'd be good for me, too. Yes, I had a plan, and I could follow it and succeed. Heaven help me, please let me succeed.

I finally felt it, the telling clamping of her around me. She was calling my name, holding on to me, enjoying the fruits of my labor. My studying and research had paid off again. I was finally able to relax enough to release as well. I sagged over her body for a moment, and she pulled me in for a kiss, before I fell to the side of her. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were dilated, making them sparkle a bit. She was beautiful.

She leaned over me and kissed me lightly. "For a guy who can't talk to a girl, you sure know how to treat one."

I chuckled a little. "Research and science are my strong suit. It's biology, I studied," I said with a shrug.

"Hell yeah, you did. A+ with extra credit on top. You're not just a genius in the lab, but in the bedroom, too. I'm one lucky girl," she said smiling and kissed me again.

I was panting a little from my workout, but I wasn't panicking. My pills were still working. The extra release of endorphins weren't hurting, either.

"So, does thinking of me as one of your robots help?" she asked out of the blue. My eyes widened in shock. How did she know that?

She giggled and kissed my chest. "I heard you mumble Bella bot a couple of times. Does thinking of me as not a real woman help you?"

My chest was tightening up. I needed my inhaler.

"Hold on a second, you left your inhaler in the kitchen," she said, jumping out of bed.

She was naked and leaving the room…NAKED. What if Emmett came out of his room? He'd see her! My breathing was getting even worse.

She rushed back into the room and popped the inhaler in my mouth. "Breathe, Edward. You had me worried there for a minute. Your lips were starting to look a little blue." Her eyes studied my face for a moment, and then she kissed my cheek, hugging me. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled my blanket over her. The door was open, and I didn't want Emmett walking by and getting a peek at my girl.

"Are you feeling a little better?" she asked.

I nodded yes. I was able to breathe again, at least.

"Okay, how about some ice cream for dessert, mocha for me, and chocolate for you."

I loved chocolate ice cream. It was my favorite flavor. She must have remembered it from my list of questions, because I had written it in such a way that it would feel less intrusive. It was worded, "I like chocolate ice cream. What's your favorite flavor?" In fact, all of my questions gave leading answers about myself, so she wouldn't feel like she was being interrogated. That was the theory, anyways. Thanks to her, I didn't have to put that to use.

"We should get cleaned up, and then we can head to the kitchen."

She walked into my bathroom and hopped in the shower. I was pretty sure she meant for me to join her. She had said "we" should get cleaned up. I really needed to look into this girlfriend stuff better. I hadn't done any research beyond the biological responses, and I was sorely lacking in my boyfriend skills.

"Hurry up, before the water gets cold," she called to me.

That was a sure sign that I was supposed to be joining her in the shower. I hustled in at her request, even though I knew we wouldn't run out of hot water. We had a tankless water heater. Of course, once I was in the shower, I wasn't sure what to do. I didn't feel comfortable scrubbing down my penis and pubic hair with her watching me. That was sort of a private job.

What I should have been doing was holding on for dear life. I guess after sex, showers called for mutual washing, because she grabbed the soap and me and had at it. Apparently, her cleaning me involved me coming again. I was leaning hard on the wall of the shower, trying to pull myself together enough to figure out what was supposed to happen next. Was it my job to wash her in return? Did I need to give her another orgasm like I had earlier? I was pretty sure I could.

I took the soap and moved slowly, looking for direction from her. She knew what I needed, because she guided my hands where she wanted them. I realized her helping me was like a teacher giving me instruction, so I didn't panic. I wondered if she noticed and would be willing to do it again.

We finished our shower, dressed and headed to the kitchen. Emmett was sitting at the counter, eating some leftovers. He looked at us confused. "You're both dressed? What were you doing to her to make her sound like that, Edward? Were you giving her chiropractic adjustments? Cause if you're open for business, I can use a neck popping," he said rubbing his neck.

I went over and felt up his shoulders and vertebrae and found his problem. "Relax, and breathe deep," I said, rubbing the affected area so I could adjust him.

"Oh yeah, right there, Ed, you got it. Do you feel it? Yes, yes, harder, please," Emmett moaned out.

"Deep breath," I warned, and then I popped his back and neck back into place.

He let out a loud cry and then moaned. "That felt so good," Emmett said rolling his shoulders and head, then stretching. "He's awesome, right? How did you find out about his talented hands?" Emmett asked Bella.

"Oh, I've been on the receiving end of them a couple of times. I have to agree, he is very talented."

I blushed a deep red.

"If I'd known you were just going to be adjusting her tonight, I wouldn't have hid out in my room. I thought you two were going to be doing the dirty deed."

"Oh no, there was nothing dirty going on. We're both thoroughly showered," Bella said with a giggle.

I wondered if Emmett would catch on.

"He adjusted you in the shower? You did it there for the warm water, right?" he asked me. I wasn't sure how to answer that.

"I was worried we'd run out of hot water, but that has yet to happen," Bella interjected.

"Edward _is_ a water hog, that's why we quit showering together. I replaced the water heater with a tankless one, so you don't have to worry about running out of hot water."

"You showered together?" Bella asked with a furrowed brow.

Emmett and I hadn't showered together since I was seven and he was five. I shook my head no, appalled at her misinterpretation.

"Yes, we did. You were a water hog, too, and always stole my washrag when we took a bath together! You're a washrag thief! You watch yourself around him, Bella, he'll take your washrag and leave you with nothing to scrub with," Emmett accused.

"I was not a washrag thief. I stole it in self-defense, because you kept making bubbly burritos with them and then hitting me in the eyes! You're the one with the Mr. Bubbles addiction."

"Thief!" he shouted at me.

"Bubble fiend!" I yelled back.

"Okay, when was the last time you two bathed together?" Bella asked in a worried voice.

"I was seven, he was an annoying five-year-old, and I was finally able to convince our mother we didn't need to bathe together anymore, when I dunked Emmett and he got up out of the water on his own, proving he wouldn't drown."

"He didn't get the better of me! I dunked him right back and gave him a cut on his lower back. He jumped up by the faucet when he tried to get away from me."

"Needless to say, our mother didn't make us bathe together after that. She no longer worried we'd drown alone, but worried we'd drown each other," I explained.

I was surprised when Bella kissed me out of the blue. "I love it when you talk to me."

I hadn't realized it, but I had pretty much held a conversation in front of her and with her without freaking out. My plan of desensitizing myself was working.

"No inhaler, either! High five, Bro," Emmett said, offering up his hand. I slapped it proudly. "If you guys end up getting married, I'll get you a huge collection of washrags, so Bella won't have to go without."

I rolled my eyes, and she laughed.

"I'm not a washrag thief," I grumbled.

"I don't care if you are, since you're the one using it on me, anyways," she whispered in my ear and then gave me a wink. "Now, let's get some ice cream and go back to the bedroom. I think I could use another adjustment."

"Okay, sure," I answered her. I worried she might have been throwing her back out with all her scrubbing. I should have offered to adjust her sooner.

When we walked back into the bedroom with our ice cream, she started undressing.

"You don't need to take your clothes off for me to adjust you."

"Yes, I do, Edward, and you'll need to take your clothes off, too, because you're going to pound my body into another orgasm. That's the kind of adjustment I want."

My eyes widened. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Keep that in mind. I think I'll be wanting you to adjust me like that on a regular basis. Are you okay with that?" she asked.

I nodded yes, like the clueless fool I was. I'd adjust her any way she wanted. Holy cow, I think Bella and I had just made up our own personal inside joke! That was so cool! I couldn't wait to use it. For once in my life, I'd be in the loop!


	5. Chapter 5

**Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma**

 **I've also published my book Phantom Scars. It's free for Kindle Unlimited users. The link is on my Facebook page. The link to that is on my profile. I hope you check it out.**

 **Chapter 5: Caught in the Middle**

Bella made macaroni and cheese, and it didn't come from a box. This was real, and baked in an oven. I think I had a new favorite dish. I didn't think anything would beat spaghetti, but I was wrong. For the last three days, she had been making more traditional dishes, stuff that I had actually heard of before. Things like meatloaf, and fried chicken. I asked her if she had ever been a chef, and she laughed and said no, but she had taken a cooking class for fun.

Now that I wasn't as worried about being in the same room with her anymore, I was starting to learn a lot more about her. I came home one afternoon and found her playing with yarn. Not like a cat, but making something. Turned out she was crocheting potholders for the kitchen. I asked her where she had learned it, and she told me she had taken a class. In fact, that was her answer to a lot of things. She brought in an odd clay pot and put strange dried vegetation in it. Apparently, she had taken a pottery class at one point and also one to learn how to make potpourri. I had no idea what kind of degree she would have with such a bizarre class schedule, though she didn't seem to currently be registered for any courses. It was a bit confusing.

I wanted to ask her about her schooling. I had done some research, and everything said I should be supportive of my girl's interests, even if they are not something that interested me. I worried we weren't paying her enough for her tuition, and that was why she wasn't currently enrolled in school. We had given her a card for household expenses and groceries, and we also paid her eight hundred dollars a week. Education could be costly, and I didn't know what her financial situation was at all. She might have had an enormous amount of debt. Her previous living situation didn't seem like it had been a stable one. She had basically been on the verge of being homeless. I wondered if she needed a raise.

When I came home from work, she was twirling a ribbon around. I wasn't sure why, though. She just smiled at me and kept dancing around with the ribbon. "Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. We're having steak and potatoes. They were on sale."

"That's nice. You know, Emmett and I can afford things not on sale. I want the best for you," I stated honestly.

She stopped her twirling and pulled me in for a kiss. "I know, but it makes me feel good when I can get things on sale."

"Alright, whatever you want is fine with us."

"I know, and I love working for you guys, though I am a little worried about Emmett."

"Why is that?"

"The last couple of times I've done his laundry, there've been women's clothes mixed in. They weren't mine, and they didn't look to be his size. I haven't noticed him bringing anyone home, but that doesn't mean I haven't missed them. Does he have a girlfriend?"

"I…I…" I had to pull out my inhaler. I couldn't believe Emmett was mixing Rosalie bot's clothes in with his own. Of course Bella would notice them.

Emmett walked into the room, just getting home from work. "Hey, Emmett, dinner will be ready soon. Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked outright.

I expected him to say no, but he answered yes. "We should double date sometime. You are dating Edward, right? Or am I misreading that? Neither of us are very good with that stuff."

"No, you were right. Edward's my boyfriend."

Emmett smiled proudly. "I knew it! That's great, because he's been in love with you for forever."

Bella leaned into my side and kissed my cheek. "I'm lucky to have him. He takes such good care of me."

I smiled at her and wrapped my arm around her, squeezing her tight.

"I'm gonna need another adjustment tonight, Edward. Do you mind giving me one after dinner?"

"Sure, whatever you need," I answered. Then I realized the downfall of my inside joke with her. What if she really needed her back adjusted? How was I supposed to know what she truly wanted me to do? Crap! I took another puff on my inhaler, and she squeezed my hand.

"Don't worry, I'll adjust you right back."

"Did you study chiropractic adjustments?" I wondered. She had taken so many random classes; maybe that had been one of them.

"No, but I did take a massage class," she said with a wink.

I had a feeling I was missing something. Hopefully, she wouldn't mind leading again this evening.

"I'd love to meet your girlfriend," she said to Emmett after we started eating dinner.

"Yeah, it'd be cool to double date sometime," Emmett answered her back like a complete idiot.

"Emmett, what if she recognizes her?" I hissed at him, hoping she didn't hear me.

"So?" he said, clueless.

"Seriously? Do you not see the issue with her meeting Rosalie?"

"Do you think she'd be jealous of her looks? I know girls can be insecure about their appearance, but I think Bella's pretty sure you guys are solid."

"Emmett, are you forgetting what Rosalie is?" I snapped at him. He couldn't be a complete imbecile.

"Edward, I'm sure us double dating with Emmett and his girlfriend will be fine. I'm very open-minded," Bella said dismissively.

Somehow, I didn't think she'd be so accepting of Rosalie bot being a replica of a famous model and kept in Emmett's closet so he could do dirty things with it.

After dinner, I told Bella I needed to spend a little time in my lab, but I'd be back upstairs to adjust her in about an hour. She said that would be perfect and would give her a chance to clean up after dinner.

I went downstairs and paced my lab. I had to come up with a way to fix things. I decided to work on the stupid dog. If all else failed, maybe it would keep her from killing me.

I called my Bella bot over to assist me. I had been using her as a lab assistant to help me get used to talking to the real Bella. She also had perfect recall, which was great for taking notes. I'd dictate to her, and then she'd type it out for me and send me the files. She was perfect that way. I had even set up a little desk with her own laptop, even though I knew she'd never disobey and mess up my own. I just didn't want her to visually record any of my other projects. She could still be hacked.

She helped me tweak the dog and then reminded me it had been one hour since I had entered my lab. It was time for me to go meet up with the real Bella.

I ran into Emmett in the living room. "You have to tell Bella that Rosalie left town or broke up with you. She can't meet her."

"Why not?"

"No one is going to believe you're actually dating the real Rosalie Hale, Emmett. What if she recognizes her from magazines or something? We are not double dating. You tell her you broke up, or I'm dismantling her, and you'll literally be broken up," I threatened.

He glared at me and then stormed out of the room. I shook my head, but I was relieved the problem would be handled. There was no way Bella was meeting Rosalie. It was bad enough that we had a Rosalie and Bella bot in the house. I was determined to not let her meet either and out our lame perverted plans.

It turned out that when Bella asked for an adjustment, she was actually asking for sex. That was a relief. She also led me straight into the shower beforehand, so I could do what I needed to make it good for her in the bed. I think she actually understood how my anatomy worked on some level. I was so grateful for that. She was so understanding and patient with me. She led in the shower, but let me lead in the bedroom. It was a perfect balance.

I still hadn't been able to find anything on shower etiquette. When I'd looked it up, it was all about baby showers and bridal showers. There was absolutely nothing about girlfriend showers. It was all good so far. She did soap up my butt, but didn't scrub the crack, thank heavens. That just didn't seem right. I did the same for her. Like I said, I was following her lead, and I liked touching her butt. I wouldn't mind scrubbing her crack, but I thought it would be impolite to do it to her, and I didn't want to let her think that was something I wanted her to do to me, too. I really wished there was an article on showering with your girlfriend.

We lay in bed cuddling, when I decided to ask her about her schooling. "You've taken a lot of classes, what are you majoring in?"

She frowned at me. "You sound like my mother."

"Is that good or bad?"

"I'm not majoring in anything, Edward. I like to take classes on what interests me. I don't want to be tied down to one profession by a silly degree."

"Do you need more money for schooling?" I asked. I wasn't sure I understood her at all, and she never answered the question about me sounding like her mom.

"I don't need money for schooling. You and Emmett pay me enough to take whatever I want and save up for retirement. I was thinking of getting my own car."

"Do you not like driving my mom's car?" My mother had flown to my aunt's house, leaving her car. She said it was fine for our housekeeper to use it. I had yet to tell her that our housekeeper was young, hot and my girlfriend.

"It's fine, I suppose. Maybe I could get a bike with big baskets. Then I could ride it through the open farmer's market."

"Okay." I was a little lost.

"I should get to bed. I have a yoga class in the morning."

"Alright, let me know if you need anything," I offered, not sure what to do with myself. I really wished there was a boyfriend handbook.

She climbed out of bed and then leaned over, giving me a deep kiss. "You know I'd sleep with you, but I have a feeling I'd end up fucking you all night instead of sleeping. You have no idea how sexy you are, Edward." She kissed me again and then climbed back into bed. "Maybe just one more round, are you up for it?" she asked, sliding her hand down the front of me. Yeah, I was up for it.

We lay in bed after our second round. She was snuggled into my side, and I wondered how much I was truly missing out on when it came to really knowing who Bella Swan was.

"What other classes have you taken, Bella?"

"Why the sudden interest in my education?"

"I just want to get to know you better."

She let out a sigh. "Nothing substantial, I've taken basket weaving, jewelry, pottery, painting, drawing, flower arrangements, yarn working, sewing, wood working, gardening, cooking..."

"It sounds like you like art stuff. You must have a very creative mind."

She looked up at me and smiled. "I never looked at it that way. I do enjoy making stuff. It's relaxing to make pretty things."

"I wonder if you'd like architecture. I'd bet you'd be able to draw a pretty house."

"I don't know. I don't like anything too challenging. I don't like stressing myself. I have been thinking of taking guitar or piano lessons. I want to try my hand at song writing."

"That'd be interesting."

She let out a yawn. "I should get going. One of these days, I'm going to have you adjust me in _my_ bed. It's much larger, and we could both sleep comfortably…well, if we ever got around to sleeping. Maybe we could try it out this weekend?" she asked.

"Yes, that sounds perfect."

She smiled and kissed me goodnight.

I lay in bed, not sure what to think about Bella's lack of direction. I had always known what I wanted to do with my life. I'd always had direction, but she seemed lost. Did she need my help to find her way? I wasn't sure. I decided to slip back into my lab and think about it more.

I was almost done with my dog anyway. I couldn't put fur on it. I didn't have access to animal hide. It just seemed wrong to use real dog skin, and I didn't have access to fake dog flesh, so he was just going to have to go naked.

It was time for his test run. I hit the power button. "Hello, Rover, I'm your master, Edward."

When I said my name, he lunged at me, biting my arm. I screamed in shock, not sure what was wrong with him. He wasn't programmed to bite, just growl. I didn't want to be sued. I had no idea where his biting programming had come from.

I yelled for my Bella bot to come help me. She had quite a bit of strength and would be able to pull him off easily. "Bella, please! Dang it, you stupid dog! Bella, help!"

My Bella bot looked at me, unsure what to do.

"Pull him off, Bella! Stupid Rover!"

"Isn't he supposed to attack? He is an attack dog," she stated logically.

"Bella, I said pull him off, do it now!"

"Yes, Sir," she said, finally reaching for the dumb metal monster, returning him to the lab table behind me. I was so dismantling him.

"Are you alright?" Bella asked.

"I think so," I answered, assessing my arm. Thank heavens he didn't have teeth.

"It doesn't look broken," Bella said, coming over to my side to look at my arm.

"There wasn't enough hydraulic pressure in Rover's jaws to do damage to his skeletal structure," Bella said from the other side of me.

I looked side to side frantically, my breathing becoming labored, when I realized there were two different Bella's in the room, and they were talking to each other. I looked at the real Bella wide-eyed. Oh crap…I was sure she was going to kill me now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Beta'd by Dollybigmomma**

 **Check out my book Phantom Scars on Amazon. It's free for Kindle unlimited. Our penname is Rose von Barnsley**

 **Chapter 6: Busted**

Bella walked over and looked at my arm, taking it carefully in her hand. I took a puff on my inhaler and wished I had my medicine close by. "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked again.

"Yeah," I squeaked. It would just bruise badly. I couldn't get that sentence out, though.

"Okay," she said and turned to the Bella bot. She looked at it carefully, taking in her lab coat and poking at the pocket protector that held extra writing utensils and tools, like small screwdrivers, a magnifying glass and tweezers. "Is she your helper?" she asked me.

I nodded yes, still unable to talk to her.

"How do you help Edward?" she asked the robot directly.

"I take notes for him and make records of his work. I also hand him things and help him make adjustments to his projects."

"What kind of adjustments?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"I have a higher torque resistance in my hand and wrist and am able to tighten and loosen bolts and screws at a higher rate than he is."

"Have you had sex with him?" she asked outright.

"No," my Bella bot answered truthfully, thank heavens. "Though I am programmed with all of the proper responses to female erogenous zones. Edward has not triggered them since his initial check to see if they were in working order."

"Is that so?" Bella asked and then eyed me skeptically. "Did he program you to tell me that you don't have sex with him?"

"No, Edward has never programmed me to be deceptive. Emmett programmed me to keep my interaction with Rosalie from Edward."

"What?" I shouted and then puffed on my inhaler again. I needed to talk to my Bella bot. "When have you met Rosalie, and when have you two been together?"

"You know Emmett's girlfriend?" Bella asked her.

"Yes, Emmett likes to watch us together, but hasn't taken me to his room since Bella moved into the house."

"I'm gonna kill him!" I growled. "I'm so dismantling Rosalie now!"

I ran up into Emmett's attic, sure he was still in there. He was, too. He had his Rosalie bot sitting on his lap when I stormed in. "You touched my Bella bot!"

"What?"

"You touched my Bella bot," I repeated. "I told you to keep your hands off her. You weren't allowed to go near her. She was mine! I let you have Rose. You know how much Bella means to me, and you defiled her!"

"I didn't defile her. You had some pretty wicked coding in there. I got a nasty shock when I tried to touch her."

"She said you had her and Rosalie together, you sicko!"

"I did find a loophole with your programming. She wouldn't let me touch her, but she was okay with another bot touching her," he giggled like the sick idiot he was.

"I quit," we heard Bella say from the door. Bella bot was standing next to her.

"Oh crap," Emmett hissed.

"Bella, please," I begged and took another puff on my inhaler. My chest was tightening. It was still hard to breathe, even after taking a puff.

"I'm not quitting you, Edward, I'm just quitting Emmett. I can't work for someone who's so disrespectful to me."

"It wasn't you, it was a robot. I'd never treat you like that," Emmett tried to defend.

"The fact that you were thinking about me while watching her is bad enough, Emmett, and I won't deal with you anymore. I've ignored a lot of your bad behavior, but this was the last straw."

"Come on, Edward was the one who made her," he whined.

"Yes, but he didn't sexualize her," Bella said, excusing me.

"Only because I stole her the night he was supposed to. She was his sex bot. He just never got a chance to screw her."

"He never took advantage of her!" I was on thin ice. I could feel it. I wished Emmett would just shut up.

"I wasn't taking advantage. That was what she was made for."

"She's Edward's helper in his lab!" she snapped and then turned to Bella bot. "Have you had any sort of sexual interaction with Edward after he first checked your responses?" Bella asked her.

"No," Bella bot answered truthfully.

"See," Bella said pointing to Bella bot. "You're on your own from now on, Emmett. Come on, Edward. We need to talk."

I rushed out of the room, praying I stayed conscious. She took me to the living room and set me down on the couch. She pulled the inhaler out of my hand that was clinched in my fist. She put it up to my lips and made me take another puff. "Don't pass out on me. I'm not angry. I just have a few question."

I nodded yes, letting her know I understood her.

"Do you think of her when we're having sex? I know you've said Bella bot a couple of times when we were together."

My face turned red, I didn't know how to answer that.

"Why do you think of her when we're together?" she asked guessing right.

"She accepts me, no matter what, there's no risk. I can't mess up like I can with you. It gives me more courage to do what I need to, so I can satisfy you. I don't want to disappoint you. I don't want to ruin things with you. It scares me."

I thought she'd be angry, but her expression softened. "You're scared of me?"

Wasn't that obvious? I could barely talk to her until recently. I nodded yes. She pushed into my lap and wrapped her arms around me. She pulled my face to hers and kissed me softly. "No more thinking of her. I don't want you scared of me. You should know by now that I think you're great and want to keep you."

"I don't know how to be a boyfriend. I'm going to mess up, and you'll be mad, and there's no articles on shower etiquette, and I don't want you to wash my butt crack, but I don't mind doing yours. I love your crack. I love all of your body, but I don't know what to do sometimes. I only studied for the bedroom sex, not what to do before or after or in showers or dates. We haven't been on a date. What if you like the waiter better than me?"

"Edward," she said cutting me off, "I'm not going to like the waiter better than you. I'm not going to like anyone better than you, and I promise not to wash your butt crack," she said with a giggle.

I couldn't believe I'd said that out loud. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for."

I looked into her eyes, not sure I believed her. She brushed the hair from my eyes and kissed me softly. "Why don't we try sleeping in my bed tonight? I think it'd be good for both of us."

I took another puff on my inhaler. There wasn't an article about sharing a bed, either. What if I snored and stole the blanket in my sleep? What if she did? Was it okay to take it back? Should I just get another blanket? Would she be offended when she woke up and found me using a different blanket? Would it need to match the bed set she had on her bed?

"Stop thinking, we're just sleeping, Edward. It's not scary or hard." She kissed my cheek and pulled me to her room. If only she truly knew how scary it all was. Why was the internet so lacking when it came to these important topics? I was going to screw up. I just knew it.

Sleeping with Bella brought about issues I hadn't even thought of. She was currently asleep on my arm. The circulation was completely cut off. I was sure to form blood clots if I didn't find a way to get her off of my poor numb extremity. She had been originally sleeping on my shoulder, which felt nice, but she shifted in her sleep. At least she wasn't snoring and stealing the blanket.

I had to find a way to get her off my arm without waking her or offending her. I did want to cuddle with her, just not like this. I managed to get my phone off the nightstand with my free hand. I did a quick search and was relieved when I found a site that had different tactics, but it was becoming clear pretty quickly that it wasn't going to help me.

Every situation it described started with the people in the spooning position. We weren't spooning! Nothing they said was going to help, and then I got to the end of the article, and it said to have your girlfriend sleep on your chest. That was sort of where she had started, and now she had wiggled down to my arm. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't even cuddle right.

I was so lost in my desperation, that I hadn't realized she had woken, until she grabbed my phone from my hand. She looked at what I was reading and then up at me. She was going to be mad. She was going to hate me. She was going to think I didn't want to snuggle.

She moved off the bed, I was sure she was going to storm out of the room, but she stopped at her dresser and then climbed back on the bed, pinning me under her. She shoved my inhaler into my mouth, giving me a puff, set it on the nightstand and then started rubbing the arm she had been sleeping on.

"I'm sorry. I'll do better. There has to be more out there on cuddling. I promise to get it right. I want to get it right. I want to cuddle with you, honest," I begged her to understand.

"God, you're sexy," she moaned and started kissing me. I didn't understand her response, but I was happy it was a positive one. I realized very quickly things were going a completely different way than I had thought they were, when she started taking off her PJ's and then started pulling on mine.

"Do you want me to…?"

She shook her head no and baffled me. "I'm going to teach you something new. Just sit back and enjoy the ride."

I did to some extent. She was on top. I had never studied for that. I wasn't sure where to put my hands, or how to move. Thankfully, she saw I was floundering and put my hands where she wanted them. The position felt amazing, and once I didn't feel so lost, I could truly enjoy it.

Afterwards, she just lay in bed next to me. "Do you mind getting a washrag and cleaning us up? I'm too tired to get up and shower right now," she asked.

"Yes, of course," I answered, jumping out of bed. I grabbed a washrag and then realized I didn't know if she wanted me to get it wet or add soap to it. I didn't think a dry rag would do the job, but I wasn't sure what she wanted me to bring her.

There was a stack of rags there, so I decided to bring her everything I could think of. I didn't think she'd judge me for not knowing. I grabbed a dry rag and a wet another. Then I added her body wash to a third. When I walked into the bedroom and offered my options, she pulled me down for a kiss. "I didn't know what you needed," I worried.

"Just a wet one is good and then the dry one. Next time, just get part of one wet, okay."

"I'm sorry," I started to apologize for my screw up.

"NO, don't apologize for trying to make me happy and get me what I need. I love you, Edward."

Her words stunned me. I had loved her forever, and she knew that. I didn't realize she loved me back. She pushed the inhaler in my mouth and gave me a puff. "Really? You love me?" I asked excited.

She smiled widely. "Yeah, I do."

"I love you, too. I really do, Bella. I've loved you for a long time."

"I know. I kind of guessed that, when I saw you still had that pencil I borrowed and then made a robot based on me."

My face crumbled a little at the mention of Bella bot. "I'm sorry about that. I never thought I'd ever have a chance with the real you."

"That first night, Bella bot was supposed to be your date, wasn't she?" she caught me.

I bit my lip worried. I didn't want her to leave me, but I couldn't lie. I nodded yes.

"Well, that explains why you were able to talk to me so much more easily that night. How did you give her my personality?"

"She doesn't have it. You're way better. You're much more colorful and unpredictable. I thought Emmett had messed with your programming. I actually thanked him the next morning, because I loved the changes he'd made to it so much."

She smiled up at me and pulled me in for a kiss. "So you think the original is better than the copy?"

"Definitely. The original is superior in every way. I don't need the copy. I can dismantle her if you'd like."

She smiled at me with a mischievous grin, "But who'd help you in the lab?"

I shrugged. "I managed before. I could manage again, though that perfect recall she has really comes in handy."

"What does she do while you're at work?"

"She's turned off. She charges overnight, and I turn her off during the day. There's no reason for her to be on."

"Do you mind if she came and hung out with me upstairs?"

"Really, you want her upstairs with you?" I asked shocked.

"Sure, she can give me a hand with the chores and stuff. I'd like to get to know her a little better."

That made me nervous, but I couldn't deny her. "Okay, I'll send her up in the morning before I leave for work, with the orders to do as you ask while I'm away."

"Awesome. I think it's gonna be fun to play with her. I always wanted a twin sister."

I didn't know what to say to that. Bella bot was programmed to love me and listen to me. I honestly hadn't put a lot of background protocols in her programming. I hoped the real Bella wouldn't be disappointed. Only time would tell.


	7. Chapter 7

**Beta'd by Dollybigmomma**

 **Phantom Scars is free for everyone 3/27-3/28 on Amazon, not just on Kindle unlimited. Download it while you can!**

 **Chapter 7: How to Program a Gentleman**

Before I left for work, I walked Bella bot upstairs, with the instructions to do as Bella asked and be her assistant during the day. I didn't really feel comfortable leaving Bella bot by herself, but Bella had left for her class. She didn't know how to unhook Bella bot from her charging station or turn her on. I didn't think Bella would damage the Bella bot, but there was no telling what she had in store for her.

I wasn't very productive at work. I called Bella at lunchtime, and she said she and Bella bot were fine. She laughed at me and called me a worried father. It didn't matter in the end, I still ended up going home a little early.

When I walked in the house, I heard music playing loudly and a vacuum running. I found Bella in the hallway, somehow perched on the walls, while Bella bot vacuumed. She was playing loud music from her mouth.

"Isn't she a great singer?" Bella said laughing. "Come here, Edward, and help me down."

I walked under her, grabbing her waist. She went slack and fell onto me. I was able to stabilize us enough so we didn't fall to the ground. She pulled me out of the hallway into the living room, leaving Bella bot to clean. "Isn't she awesome? I've had so much fun with Bella bot today. She knows everything. She said she was hooked up to the internet, so if I asked her a question, it's like Googling it. The only thing she's missing is a screen for YouTube videos. She going to help me cook dinner. She's the ultimate cookbook. She can also mop your bathroom floor in half the time I do. I was worried about how the cleaners might affect her skin. Is there anything she shouldn't be touching?"

I was honestly shocked she liked Bella bot so much and actually worried about damaging her. "Uh…no…she's fine with anything you can touch yourself. I'd be careful with acidic toilet cleaners and bleach, like you would with your own skin. She doesn't regrow skin like a human. Maybe that's something I should look into…" If I grafted skin onto a mesh, it would be more human than synthetic and could possibly heal itself. They'd done it before in other studies...

"Earth to Edward," Bella said laughing. "Where did you go?"

"Oh, I was thinking of a way to fix the skin issue with Bella Bot. I think having you work with her during the day is a good idea. You can bring up issues I wouldn't have thought of, be a fresh pair of eyes for me."

"So, I'd be like your assistant?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, sort of, more like a secondary scientist, actually. Assistants record and assist; you'd be evaluating and identifying problems and potential issues."

"I think I like that," she said with a huge smile and pulled me down for a kiss.

"So, are you really okay with Bella bot?" I asked worriedly.

"Well, I'll admit I was a little upset and hurt by you having her and thinking of her, but I'm kind of in a weird position. You're my landlord, my employer and my boyfriend. It's not like I could storm out on you. I wouldn't have a place to go and…I love you, too. I'd miss you if I left. It really came down to me deciding if I thought of your relationship with her as cheating. I don't think you're a cheater, are you?"

"No, no, no, absolutely not. I promise, you're the only one I want. I promise, it's you I love. Do you believe me?" I asked with a gulp. I felt bad that she was sort of trapped with me.

She let out a sigh and leaned into me, hugging me. I took a puff on my inhaler, trying to hold myself together. I wrapped my arms around her tightly, not wanting to lose her. What if she got a different job and moved out? She'd have no reason to be with me anymore. I felt so selfish and scared at the same time. I didn't want her to leave me.

"I believe you, Edward. You do need to come up with a different name for Bella bot. Having two Bella's in the house will just be confusing."

"Okay, whatever you want. I'll even let you pick the name, since now she's sort of your project, too."

"We're letting our bots out of the labs to run around? Awesome, I can have Rosalie do my laundry and clean my bathroom then, since Bella quit me," Emmett said when he walked in.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Emmett. I wasn't kidding when I said I'd dismantle your Rosalie bot, especially after you tampered with my dog. I know it was you. I don't go into your lab and mess with your projects. I was making that dog at your request."

"You threatened my girlfriend!" he shouted back at me.

"She's not your girlfriend. She's not real. How are you ever going to get a real girlfriend, if you spend all your free time locked in your attic with a robot?" I snapped back.

"Like you have room to talk. You planned on doing the same thing. If you didn't go to that bar, you'd be down in your lab screwing your bot just the same."

"The difference is I did go out, and I met the love of my life. You need to do the same," I insisted and marched down to my lab. I would do what I should have done long ago. I was going to hit Rosalie bot's kill switch and shut her down for good.

"Just because you have a girlfriend, doesn't mean you're better than me!" I heard him stomp up the stairs.

I pulled up her wireless kill protocol and activated it. I stood at my computer, wondering if I had done the right thing.

Then I heard Emmett's wail. I came up the stairs and found Bella looking up at the attic door worried.

"What did you do?" she asked in a whisper.

"What I should've done a long time ago. I hit Rosalie's kill switch. She's off for good."

"No, no, no, God, please, not Rosalie. Baby, please talk to me. Don't leave me. I love you!" we heard him cry.

Bella was chewing her lip. "Did you do this because of me?" she asked softly.

"He was out of control with her. He used Bella bot. He needs to be taught a lesson. I won't allow him to be disrespectful to you, Bella. You're everything to me. You're the most important person in my life. I won't let him think of you that way or treat you badly. You have no idea how many times I thought of calling my mother to come set him straight. He knows how to behave, but he's not been doing it."

Just then, the attic door banged open. "YOU!" he growled. "You did this. This is all your fault. You took her from me!" He came barreling down the stairs straight for me. I was shocked when Bella stepped between us and kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

"Holy cow! Where did you learn to do that?" I asked, shocked.

She shrugged. "I took a class." She let out a deep sigh, looking down at Emmett. "I think he's in love with her, Edward. Is there any way to start her up again and give her back to him?"

"Give her back? I thought you'd want to get rid of the bots all together?"

"Well, I like mine. Maybe we should just get to know Emmett and Rosalie bot a little better, feel out what kind of relationship they really have."

I looked at her confused. I would never understand women. I was sure she was disgusted by his behavior, and now she was considering letting it continue? "If I'm going to fix her, I'll need to bring her to my lab."

I called my Bella bot to come carry Rosalie to my lab downstairs. There was no way I would have been able to move her on my own. Bella bot laid Rosalie out on the table, and Bella walked over by her face, brushing the hair from her dead eyes. "Can you really fix her?" she asked.

I nodded, carefully pulling loose a blended flesh seam. You'd never know it was there if you didn't know what you were looking for. I pulled out the fried master chip with a pair of tweezers and asked Bella bot to retrieve me a spare one.

"You used the last one in the dog," she informed me.

I let out a huff, this was going to take a little longer. "Bring it to me. I'll reload the Rosalie program I have saved on my server. It won't have Emmett's alterations, but I may be able to tweak it a little for him. Bella bot, I need an image of Emmett," I ordered, after taking the chip from her.

She sent a file to me, and I was quick to make the few alterations, making Rosalie's primary program be to please Emmett. I really hoped Bella knew what she was doing.

"How long is this going to take?" Bella asked me.

I poked around the hardware in Rosalie's abdomen. "Not sure, he's changed a few things in here. Most likely swapped them out with faster and better stuff. She took an hour to load originally, but there's no telling with the alterations."

"Is there a way to make her less sexually compliant, like a real girl?" Bella asked me.

"You mean, just his friend?"

"No, yes, maybe. Sort of friends at first, but as he treats her respectfully and is nice to her, she'll gradually progress to a physical relationship."

"So a sliding scale program…" I pulled up what I had for Rosalie and got to work. It was definitely going to take longer than an hour to make the changes Bella requested. "This is going to take a while. Do you maybe want to make dinner?" I couldn't believe I'd said that to her face. "I'm sorry. You don't have to. I didn't mean that."

"Mean what?"

"To push you around like that."

"You didn't push anything, Edward."

"I asked you to make dinner."

She laughed and kissed me. "My sweet man, that's part of my job description. You'd probably work better with some food in you, anyways. I guess you need Bella bot for this."

"No, this is all brain and computer work. The physical stuff is done. You can take her if you'd like."

She kissed my cheek and thanked me. "I'm going to lock your lab door when I leave. I don't want Emmett coming down here after you when he wakes up."

"Okay, thank you," I said gratefully.

I took me a little over an hour, but I thankfully finished, just as Bella pulled out a delicious smelling casserole. I walked into the kitchen and saw a complacent Emmett sitting at the table, looking shame-faced and holding an ice pack to his head.

When he saw me walk in, his eyes watered, and he started crying again. Then Rosalie bot walked in behind me. "Rosie!" he shouted. He ran to her, wrapping his arms around her, crying into her shoulder.

"I've changed her programming. I've made you her primary focus, and at Bella's request, I've changed your relationship status."

"You're just friends now," she filled in. "But as you treat her more respectfully and are kind to her, she'll be more affectionate in return, like a real girlfriend would be. I won't tolerate your bad behavior, Emmett, not even against a bot. She deserves respect, just as much as the next girl."

"You changed her?" he looked at me confused.

"Bella is the only reason she's repaired and turned back on. I was going to scrap her."

"NO! Don't you dare!"

"Bella seems to think we should get to know you two as a couple. The way things stand now with Rosalie bot, you need to work up to girlfriend status. Her memories were wiped. I didn't have an updated version of them."

"You get to start over, from the beginning, like she's a real girl," Bella said proudly.

She seemed to think it was a great idea, but I wasn't so sure Emmett was going to be accepting of it. I guess if he wanted to have a relationship with Rosalie bot, though, he was going to have to learn how to behave himself like a real boyfriend. I had some great internet links I could send him to help him out with that.


	8. Chapter 8

**Beta'd by Dollybigmomma**

 **Chapter 8: Quickie**

After dinner, I heard Emmett squeal like he was dying, making me laugh.

"What was that?" Bella asked me, looking toward Emmett's bedroom door.

I snickered.

"Are you trying to kill me?" I heard him shout.

"Just making sure you follow the rules," I called back to him. "You'd better not try and mess with her programming again. The voltage is turned up with each attempt," I laughed maniacally.

"He was trying to change her programming?" Bella asked with a glare in the direction of his door.

"Yup, but like Bella bot, I found a programming protocol he can't get around. I also closed the loopholes he used with Bella bot. Rose is not bi-sexual and will not engage in sexual activity in any way, unless he's earned it with his behavior."

We heard another squeal and then a slap. I giggled like a guilty schoolgirl. "She also has an offense protocol. If he says or does anything too suggestive or offensive, she slaps him. If he keeps doing it, she'll knee him."

"Well, that's one way to train him. I wish I could see what was going on. I wonder what he did to get hit."

"Oh!" I snickered like the naughty boy I was. "I can tap into the cameras in her eyes and see what he's trying to do. Do you want to see?"

She crossed her arms and looked at me harshly. I was sure she was going to say no. "Do you tap into Bella bots?"

"Why would I?" I asked confused.

"To spy on me," she narrowed her eyes.

"While you clean house?" I asked baffled.

She burst out laughing and shook her head. "It never even crossed your mind, did it?"

"No, should I be watching? Did you want me to? Am I missing something?" I asked worried.

She grabbed the inhaler out of my pocket and shoved it in my mouth, giving me a puff. She pulled me down for a light kiss and then led me toward my lab door, leaving Bella bot to clean up the dinner mess alone.

I pulled up Rosalie bot's cameras and saw Emmett on his knees. "You like it when I touch you. You like my dick!" he pleaded

Rose backhanded him, knocking him back a few feet, leaving him sprawled out. "That's disgusting. We've just met. Don't you dare talk to me like that!" she snapped at him.

"Nice," Bella complimented me.

"I'll find a way to make you remember. There has to be a way to recover your old program. Just let me turn you off for a moment for an update. You know, for maintenance. I'm sure your programming allows for maintenance, doesn't it?" he said inching toward her.

She stepped back. "You're not authorized to do maintenance on me."

"How do you know? Come here, just let me give it a shot." He reached out, and the zap he got made his hair smoke.

I couldn't hold back my giggle. His finger twitched, so I knew he was still alive.

"Can she kill him?" Bella asked worried.

"Nah, I kept the voltage down just enough so it wouldn't stop his heart. I didn't adjust the torque in her arm and wrist, though. If he keeps offending her, she could do some real damage."

"Let's hold off on that for now," Bella said with an evil grin.

The next few days left Emmett looking worse for wear. I realized that my modifications to Rosalie bot were holding and decided I should do them to Bella bot as well. I didn't want him to find a way to get to Bella bot and get revenge on me.

I decided to set Bella bot to only take orders from me and Bella herself. She would reject all interaction with Emmett.

Bella was off at a class of some sort when I got home. I decided to take Bella bot into the basement for adjustments while Bella was out. I'd let the bot get back to mopping the kitchen as soon as I was done.

I had Bella bot on the table, holding her shirt up for me, so I could peel back the faux flesh. Once I had it peeled back, I flipped down my magnifying glasses that were clipped to my eyeglasses and pulled out my tweezers. I needed to carefully unlock her hidden tamper defense line. I was the only one who knew where it was, or that it existed in the first place.

"Edward, what are you doing?" I heard the real Bella snap. She sounded mad.

I looked up at her worried, not sure what I had done. "I'm adjusting your bot."

"Adjusting?" She sounded even angrier. I was having a hard time making out her facial expressions through my magnified eyeglass clips. I flipped them to the sides and almost poked my eye with my tweezers in the process.

When her face came into focus, she looked confused. She stomped the rest of the way down the stairs, not saying anything, and then she walked around the end of the table to see what I was doing. She let out a sigh and laughed at something. It didn't sound like the kind of laugh where you really thought something was funny.

"Are you mad at me?" I bravely asked.

She confused me even further, when she pulled me down for a kiss.

"What was that for? I thought you were upset with me?" I wished I could read her mind.

"I was upset with you. I poked my head in here to see if you had time for a quickie, only to find you with your head in my bot's shirt!"

My brow furrowed, I didn't get it.

"Edward, it looked like you were playing with her tits."

"But I wasn't. I was just adjusting her settings. Rosalie's settings are impenetrable for Emmett, and I thought I could use the same program to reinforce what I've set up for Bella bot already," I said, pointing to Bella bot with my tweezers.

"I know," Bella said, pulling me down and kissing me again. "You're so hot when you talk shop."

I would never understand that woman. "So, what did you need help with?" I asked.

"Help?"

"You said you needed me for a quickie? I assume that means some sort of urgent assistance."

She started giggling at me and tugging at my pants. "You're so cute."

I really wished she wouldn't call me cute while looking in my pants. Who was I kidding, she could call me anything she wanted, and I'd happily answer.

"Did you not need help with something?" I asked baffled.

"Just with sex. A quickie is a fast hard fuck," she explained, dropping her own clothes.

"Does Quickie Mart know this?" I asked shocked. I bought gas there on a regular basis. I never went into the store. Maybe there was a whole plethora of information I had been overlooking, because I didn't understand euphemisms.

Bella shoved me back into my chair, giggling and kissing me. "You're so adorable," she said, climbing on my lap. I wasn't able to remember my line of inquiry after that.

She later assisted me with fixing Bella bot, and then I assisted her with dinner. "Have you come up with a name for Bella bot yet?" I wondered. It had been a while since I had suggested she rename her, but she hadn't come up with anything.

"I have a few different things in mind. I've been calling her sister, since she's sort of like my twin sister."

I nodded in understanding. "That makes sense. If you had a sibling, what would her name be?"

"I don't know. Probably something pretentious. I hate my name. I don't want her to get stuck with something like Isabella. I'm not the damn queen," she complained.

"I like your name," I said nervously. Would she be upset with me for liking her name?

She laughed at me and kissed my cheek. "What would your mother have named you if you were a girl?" she asked me out of the blue.

"She probably would've named me after Aunt Margaret or Grandma Doris."

"Well, Margaret is out, unless she went by Maggie. Would that be weird, though?"

Honestly, it would be creepy. I wasn't sure how to tell her that. She must have read the expression on my face, because she giggled and shook her head. "I'll keep working on it. If you come up with any ideas, I'm open to hearing them," she said, clearing the table.

"We could always just reprogram her if we decide we don't like the name. Of course, we should learn to pick good names, so we can name our babies." The words were out of my mouth before I realized what I had said. I stared at her wide-eyed, waiting for her response. I dug out my inhaler, taking a deep puff on it, after a few moments of silence.

As this all was playing out, I was replaying the start of all our time together and our distinct lack of protection. We hadn't used it the first time, because I had thought she was a bot and couldn't get pregnant. The other times, it never even crossed my mind. Could she be pregnant now?

Her silence was killing me. "Bella?" I whispered, barely able to breathe.

She gave me a sad smile and came and sat in front of me on the edge of the table. "I know what you're thinking. We haven't ever used any protection. I knew you were clean, and I knew I was clean. I've been tested. I've always used condoms to be safe as well. I just never bothered with you, because I knew I was your first." She was quiet for a minute, and I carefully took her hand in mine to see if she was going to reject me. She gave me a sad smile. "I don't think I'd be a good mom, Edward. My mom and I don't see eye to eye. We have two very different ideas of what I should do with my life. I can't handle children right now. I'm not saying never, just not for a while."

I nodded. "Okay, but for the record, I think you'd be a great mom. You take good care of me and even Emmett, too."

"There's more to raising a kid than cleaning up after them." She looked so sad when she said that. I wondered what had happened in her life to make her feel like that.

"You can tell me anything," I blurted out.

She climbed into my lap and rested her head on my shoulder. "I know. I worry that you have me on a pedestal, and I'm going to disappoint you."

I looked down at her with a furrowed brow. "Bella, you like me. You're nice to me, and you give me my inhaler and wait for me to explain myself when I do stupid stuff. I've done a lot of stupid stuff. I love you, Bella. With all the stupid stuff I do, it's only fair that you get to do stupid things, too."

She leaned up and kissed my lips lightly. "I love you, too, Edward. One of these days, I'll tell you everything. I just don't think I can say the words yet."

"Alright." That I could understand.

Her phone started ringing, and she reluctantly got up from my lap. "It's my friend, Alice. I haven't talked to her for a while."

"Does she know about me?" I wondered if she was ashamed of me.

"Yes," she smirked at me. I didn't understand why. When she answered the phone, "Hey, Bitch," I understood their friendship even less. Of course, I'd never had friends outside of my family before, so I didn't know the dynamics of a real friendship.

"No, no, no, no, no. How could you do that, Alice? Why would you do that to me? How did she get into your phone?" she shouted. She sagged into the chair next to mine and let me take her hand. I didn't know why she was upset. I just knew I wanted to comfort her. "Well, thanks for the heads up," she sighed and hung up.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked, ready to ease whatever was on her mind.

"Just be patient with me. I don't know if she'll turn up or not," she said cryptically.

"Who, Alice?"

"No, my mother. She stopped by Alice's home looking for me and grabbed her phone. She knows Alice is one of the few people who I keep updated on my latest place of residence. That is, if I'm not staying with Alice herself."

"So, you're distressed because your mother knows of your current residence?" I repeated, trying to clarify the issue.

"Yes, and we don't get along. I don't think I could handle one of her lectures right now. I've been doing so well at keeping myself busy."

"Then stay busy. It may not be an issue. What's the likelihood of her actually coming to see you?"

"I don't know how to calculate odds like you, but if she went after Alice, I'd say the odds of her stopping by are very high."

"Alright, do I need to prepare for her arrival somehow? Is there any way I can make this easier for you?"

She kissed me lightly again. "No, unfortunately, there's not."

Bella bot came in to see if we needed refills on our drinks. Bella's eyes lit up. "I just figured it out. I'll just send Bella bot into the room with her instead of going myself. My mom is so self-centered that she probably won't even notice my personality has completely changed."

"She really wouldn't notice?"

"Let's hope not. I guess I found one more use for my Bella bot."

"If you think it'll work. We can always make adjustments to fool her better."

She pulled me out of the chair. "Come to my room, I want to thank you."

"For what?"

"For being so sweet and willing to help. I love you."

"I love you, too." I just hoped I'd be able to make Bella bot do what I needed to. I didn't want to let Bella down.


	9. Chapter 9

**This is not betad again. Dollybigmomma is in the middle of moving, but she'll get to this as soon as possible.**

 **Check out Phantom Scars on Amazon!**

 **Chapter 9: Mommy Dearest**

As I worked on reprogramming Bella bot with Bella, I could tell the impending visit from her mother was weighing heavily on her mind. She stressed over simple answers, and some of the phrases she told me to program, she said with a sarcastic tone. I had a feeling she would never have said some of those things to her mother in real life.

Though I thought using the title "Ma'am" was just a normal and respectful term, but she seemed to hate it. I wondered if she'd look down on me when she heard me use it with my mother. I had always said "Yes, Ma'am" or "No, Ma'am" when my mom asked me a question. I knew there was a lot more going on with Bella, when she sneered as she told me to program the phrase, "You know best, Mother." It had been sad when she'd told me to wipe all protocol which included the use of any other name besides mother. I always called my mother mom, or mommy, depending on how I felt. I never used the term mother to her face. It was just too formal for my mom. She'd probably ask me if something was wrong. I wondered if Bella was setting up Bella bot to get into a fight with her mother.

We were nearly finished with our programming. Her history was all that was left. I was worried about asking her about it. She had yet to share anything with me about her past, but for Bella bot to carry on a legitimate conversation with her mother, she'd need to understand references to past events. I wasn't sure how to approach it.

"Bella, she's going to need your history," I said nervously.

"My history?"

"Yes, to understand historical references," I tried to explain.

"Couldn't she just Google them?"

"Is your personal history available online?" Now that would be tempting.

"My personal history…like journals?"

"Yes, exactly. She needs to be able to recall events which have taken place in your lifetime that may come up in conversation. If she can't, your mother will know she's not you. I can set her up to record the information, so you can give it to her orally. I'd give you your privacy. I know you're not ready to share your life with me."

She frowned at me, and I was worried she'd shoot down the verbal history idea. "You'd be able to pull it up and watch it, wouldn't you?" she asked me.

"I wouldn't, I promise. I know there's a lot you don't want to share with me," I said pouting.

She let out a sigh and sank back in a chair. "Alright, set her up to record."

I did so quickly, not wanting her to change her mind. Her personal history was vital to Bella bot's performance. I was about to step out, when she stopped me. "You can listen to part of it. Some of it I'm not ready to talk about yet. I'm not sure I'll be able to tell her about some things."

"If you can give Bella bot a keyword, we can write a protocol to say she doesn't want to talk about it, just like you would in real life."

Bella looked up at me with hopeful eyes and then kissed me softly. "Thank you, Edward, for being so patient with me."

I shrugged. "What are boyfriends for?"

"You're a great one, and I'm lucky to have you." She let out a deep sigh. "Okay, the keywords I wouldn't want to talk about are Tyler, drugs, medication, counseling, and…" I was worried she wouldn't say anything. Tears sprung to her eyes, and I didn't know what to do. I pulled her into my arms and wiped her tears.

"Was there anything else?" I asked. I hated pushing her, but it was obvious there was something else that needed to be said.

"Pregnancy, babies, children...my baby," she whispered.

I hugged her tighter. I didn't know if she had a kid or had lost one or what. I was rabidly curious now, but it was obvious by her tears that she was in no shape to discuss it.

I let Bella bot know her response was to say, "I don't want to talk about it," or "I don't want to discuss this right now," or "I'm not ready to discuss this with you." I just hoped her mother would drop it after Bella bot's rebuffing.

"You can give her your history later, if you're not up to it right now," I suggested.

"No, it's fine. Okay, Sister, I went to Arizona State University for three years. I'm one semester short of getting my Bachelors in pre-law. I've taken classes in kick boxing, karate and Judo for self-defense. I had a craft table at the farmer's market in downtown Mesa, Arizona for two years. To keep me busy and combat depression, I've taken several classes for fun. I like to stay busy to keep my mind off things." She listed all the classes she had told me about before and a couple more I didn't know about. "I don't diet, but I eat somewhat healthy. I want to make sure we all get enough vegetables, and that should be good enough. I will not become vegan again. She'd better not ask me to. I like meat, and she'll just have to live with that. I will not dog sit. This isn't my house. I hate her dog, so you can be a little disgruntled if she asks about that. I'm not going into law, no matter what her argument is. I don't want to go back to school. I'm taking care of me, and I'm happy with my life, so she should be happy about that. She won't be, but whatever.

"I don't know what else to say. You already know I work for Edward as a housekeeper, and he's my amazingly sweet boyfriend who's a freaking genius. Bragging about how awesome he is wouldn't hurt. Maybe distract her from my life by bringing up his. If she gives you crap, just let her know you love him, and that's all that matters." She let out a deep breath. "I think that's good enough, don't you?" she asked me.

"Yeah, I think that'll work for now. If I'm home when she visits, I'll step in if she goes into non-programmed territory. Bella bot, you can just say you haven't discussed it with me yet and would rather not talk about it, if she brings up something we haven't covered."

For Bella's sake, I hoped it worked.

Bella seemed more reserved and quiet the following three days. Her mother's impending visit was really weighing on her. I really wished she'd just show up and get it over with.

Unfortunately, I got my wish. Renee Dwyer showed up just after dinner. She had a sour look on her face when she greeted me. Well, it really wasn't a greeting. "Does Isabella live here? I'm her mother," she said sharply.

"Yes, would you like to wait in the living room while I get her?" I asked, trying to be a good host.

She looked me up and down before she nodded.

I found Bella in the kitchen watching Bella bot do the dishes. "She's here, isn't she," she said sadly.

"Do you still want Bella bot to take your place?" I asked.

"Yes, for now. If you hear a pot bang, send her back into the kitchen, and I'll swap out with her."

That sounded like a pretty solid plan.

I led Bella bot into the living room, and Bella's mother looked her up and down with a sneer. Bella had been dressing Bella bot as of late, and she was currently wearing ripped jeans and a t-shirt with a cartoon of some sort on it. I really should do more research on Bella's interests.

"I see you're still dressing like a teenager. You do realize you're twenty-seven, don't you?" her mother started in on her right away.

"Yes, Ma'am," Bella bot answered.

"Who is this person here?" she pointed at me.

"His name is Edward. He's my boyfriend. He's also twenty-seven," Bella bot informed her.

"What do you do, Edward?" Renee said my name like it was a bad word.

"I'm a bio-mechanical engineer."

When I answered, she looked me up and down again. "Are you lying to me?" she snapped.

"No, he works for Star Labs and has a home lab in the basement as well," Bella bot said with a smile.

"What degree do you have?" Renee asked with narrowed eyes.

"I double majored, because I needed a doctorate in medicine with a specialty in neurology, as well as a Bachelors in engineering for the robotic aspect of my job."

"You expect me to believe you've earned those degrees at the age of twenty-seven?" Renee scowled.

"I did dual credit classes all through high school and had my bachelor's degree by the time I graduated. I attended classes year round, not taking summer breaks, because I enjoyed what I was studying. I had my doctorate and specialty finished when I was twenty-four. I've been working for the same company for the past three years. I interned for them for two years before that." I didn't know why she would think I would lie about something like that. Surely I wouldn't come up with such an abstract profession. If I had been lying, I would have just said I was a doctor or something. Not something as complex as what I actually did.

"If you're so smart, why on earth are you with my daughter? She has absolutely no value when it comes to being a productive human being."

I looked at her mother shocked. I couldn't believe she would say that about her own daughter. Bella bot obviously had no response to that, so it was up to me to defend my girlfriend. "I love your daughter. I have since high school. She's a sweet, wonderful and patient girlfriend. She has immeasurable value to me. Don't talk about her like that again," I tried to say firmly, but my body was shaking with nerves. I had always been taught to be respectful of elders, but Renee sure wasn't worthy of it.

"Is she paying you to play her boyfriend? If you have such a prestigious career, then why do you live in this house? It's barely middle class at best, and the vehicles in the driveway don't reflect a financially secure owner," she said with narrowed eyes.

"The house is my mother's. She gave it to me and my brother. The car is the one my father gave me when I was sixteen, and I've kept it for its sentimental value. I keep it well maintained. The same goes for my brother's car, which is also in the driveway. None of this is your business as it is. I've been polite and open with you, but you've been very rude. What's the purpose of your visit?"

She seemed surprised I had spoken to her so harshly. I was surprised as well, so surprised I needed a puff on my inhaler. I hoped it didn't make her think less of me.

"Isabella is my daughter, and as a parent, it's my job to raise my child to be a productive member of society. One little dispute with her husband and she threw her life away over the loss of an unwanted pregnancy. She's behaving ridiculously. Tyler had been more than patient with her. I still can't believe he granted her the divorce. I've spoken with him recently. He'd be willing to take you back, if you pull your life back together, Isabella. You don't need to slum it here, with this supposed bio whatever."

"Bio-mechanical engineer, I'm happy here, and love Edward. I'll be staying with him," Bella bot answered.

"You're being ridiculous. Your college fund is sitting untouched. I'm sure we can easily get you accepted into the university again. You need to stop being so stubborn! I refuse to be the parent of a loser!" she snapped at Bella bot.

I couldn't believe how mean her mother was. "Mrs. Dwyer, I believe it's time for you to go. Your daughter has stated she's happy in her life now. I do believe she's a productive member of society. She's been an invaluable asset in my home, and I plan to keep her for as long as she'll let me. I won't allow you to speak to her like that anymore. Go, or I'm calling the police," I ordered.

I was sure my words didn't have the impact I wanted them to have. I was shaking, and my voice quivered. I ended up needing another puff on my inhaler at the end of my little speech.

"This little show of yours is unacceptable!" her mother snapped at Bella bot. "You need to get your life in order, Isabella, or you'll never get what's coming to you."

I was shocked when Bella stormed out of the kitchen. "I don't need your money, _Mother_. I've survived just fine without it!" she shouted at her mom.

Renee did a double take, looking back and forth between Bella and Bella bot.

"Bio-mechanical engineer," I said with a cheeky grin. There was no way she could doubt my profession now.

"This is Bella bot, Edward's lab assistant. She's also strong enough to physically remove you from his house, so I suggest you leave now, before I order her to do it for me," Bella spat at her mother.

"Well, I never!" Renee huffed.

"I wish that were true, now leave," Bella said, pointing to the door.

Renee gave us one last glare and then stormed out of the front door.

Bella sank down onto the couch and rested her head in her hands. I sat next to her and pulled her into my arms. "Bella, your mom is mean," I stated plainly.

She let out a sad laugh. "Yeah, she is. I'm sorry she was such a bitch to you."

I kissed the side of her head. "I'm glad you weren't in the room. I didn't like how she was treating Bella bot. I hope she doesn't come back."

She let out a deep breath and spoke softly, "I don't think she'll be back anytime soon."

"From now on, we should have Bella bot answer the door. She'll send her away before she can cause you any grief," I said, trying to comfort her.

I really hoped her mother never returned again. After dealing with Bella's mom, I felt like I should call mine and tell her I loved her. Renee Dwyer sure knew how to make a guy feel grateful for his mommy.


	10. Chapter 10

**I chose to publish** **A Life Unplanned** **by Rose Von Barnsley today because it's Shakespeare day! It seemed fitting to do it on a day that celebrated a writer. It's free for Kindle Unlimited users, and today and tomorrow, the 23rd and 24th of April,** **Phantom Scars** **is free for everyone. Check them out!**

 **Chapter** **10: Like You Were Never Here**

Bella had been unusually quiet. I was used to being the quiet one, but as of late, she had been nearly silent. The visit from her mother had obviously hit her very hard, not to mention there were tons of unanswered questions floating around in my head. Of course, with as off as Bella was acting, I wasn't going to bring them up. I just didn't know how, and Google didn't offer me much help. There was no way to ease into the subject.

Emmett noticed my distraught demeanor and offered me some golden advice. "Does it affect your relationship now? You said she was divorced and possibly lost a kid. I don't see an ex-husband around or a kid, so does it really matter if either were in her past?" he asked me.

The truth was, it didn't. I still loved her the same. Nothing had changed with me. I worried that something had changed with her, though. I didn't like her being sad. It was weird. She pushed to have sex a lot more often. I liked sex, a lot. She had even gotten me to loosen up and try a few new positions, but I felt like her heart wasn't in it. It was like she was trying to get something other than a release out of me, and I wasn't sure what it was.

There were a few articles about coaxing people to talk about something uncomfortable by buttering them up. Not using actual butter, but other things, though I did consider making a butter sculpture for her. I was still debating whether or not to do it. I could program an image into Bella bot, and she'd be able to reproduce it perfectly in butter form. I'd have to give it a little more thought.

Emmett was making good headway with Rosalie bot. He had finally given up on reprogramming her and was attempting to woo her. He did make the mistake of not researching flowers before giving her a bouquet and found out the hard way they meant death and revenge. I'd be sure not to make the same mistake as my brother.

A good solid red rose bouquet and nothing else. He thought the darker roses looked cool, but that didn't work out for him in the end. I just hoped Bella liked the flowers I had bought her. I brought them into the kitchen for her and waited for her to turn around. She had ear buds in and was cooking something. I didn't want to startle her, but I was getting impatient and second guessing my move. She turned to get something from the fridge and saw me. She gave me a smile that didn't seem very bright and kissed me hello. "I brought you flowers," I said nervously, nudging them toward her. "They mean love, I looked it up to be sure to get the right ones."

Her smile grew a little wider. "Love…" she whispered. "Thank you, Edward, it was very sweet of you."

I wasn't sure if it was working. Maybe I should have bought her jewelry instead, but jewelry took on a whole bunch of different meanings as well. "What's that look on your face for?" she asked with a smirk.

"I was just wondering if I should've gotten you something else. Are you disappointed or mad or…"

"I'm not disappointed in you or upset with you," she answered and turned back to the stove.

"Are you okay?" I finally asked.

"I'm not sure what to do. Usually, when my mother finds me, I leave, but I don't want to leave, Edward. I like it here with you. I just don't want to be ambushed by her again."

"That's understandable. I did program Bella bot to monitor the outdoor security cameras and have her removed before she can make it to the porch. You don't ever have to face her again, Bella. I'm sorry I let her in the house before. I can't imagine what it was like growing up with her."

"Don't you remember me from high school, Edward? I was the perfect daughter. I had perfect grades and did as she wanted. I dated who she thought would be best for me. When I went to college, she moved with me, joining a law firm down there, so she could be the 'supportive' mother she'd always been. I could go to her with any problem, and she'd fix it. She set me up with my ex-husband. He was supposed to be perfect for me. I had everything she thought I deserved. I had a mansion, clothes, servants, literally anything I wanted. I just had to stick to the plan she and my husband had for me. He was focused on his future and moving up in life. I was supposed to follow in both of their footsteps. They were paving the way for me." She went quiet again, and tears started dripping down her cheeks. I wiped them and kissed her softly.

"What happened?" I carefully ventured.

"I got sick. It was some sort of stomach bug, but I couldn't keep anything down, including my birth control pills. I didn't realize it until it was too late. I wasn't protected, and so when I turned up pregnant, things got…"

I pulled her over to a chair and into my lap.

"They saw the baby as a complication, a problem that needed getting rid of. I didn't want to. I'd wanted to keep it and stay home. I wanted to drop out of school and be a mother. I was married, we had everything we could ever want, so why not a child?"

I kissed her temple.

"When Tyler found out, he went to my mother with the news immediately and then told his parents. It didn't fit in with everyone's plans, and they were all furious. I was supposed to be part of the firm. It was supposed to be a family business of successful attorneys. My mother, Tyler, his parents, and me. Everyone specialized in a different section of law. Mine was supposed to be business contracts. There would've been big money for the family firm. My changing my mind wasn't an option. When I refused to get an abortion…" she cried harder.

I squeezed her in my arms. The food on the stove started smoking. She jumped up and removed it from the burner. I called Bella bot to come clean up and ordered us dinner. I led Bella to her bedroom and cuddled up with her on the bed, while we waited for the food. "I'd never ask you to get an abortion, ever. I hope you know that," I whispered.

She chuckled blackly. "That's just the thing, Edward. Tyler beat me so badly that night, I lost the baby, but it also damaged my body. The doctor said I could probably still carry a baby to term, but it'd be difficult for me to actually get pregnant without assistance."

"Well, it's a good thing you have a boyfriend who specializes in biological repair advancements. It's nothing a little research and elbow grease can't fix."

She laughed, but it was a happier one.

"That's what I love to hear. Bella, I hope you know, I'll give you whatever you want in life. Not someone else's dream, but your own. All I want to do is make you happy."

"I love you," she said and kissed me lightly then deepened it.

We heard the doorbell ring and then some knocking. "That's probably our food," I said, pulling away reluctantly.

"I've got it!" we heard Emmett yell.

You couldn't trust my brother with food, especially since I had paid for it over the phone. The delivery guy was supposed to ask to see the card I used, but they didn't always do that.

"Can I get a picture with you?" I heard a stranger ask excitedly.

"Sure," Rosalie bot answered, and I started moving down the hall faster.

"So what are you doing here?" the guy asked Rosalie bot.

"I live here with my boyfriend," Rosalie bot said confused.

NO! What the heck was Emmett doing? I finally made it into the room, only to see a confused looking delivery guy. "He's your boyfriend?" he sounded appalled.

"That's my food, thanks, now leave," I said, shoving him out the door. I was never that bold, but in the panic of being exposed, I had found courage. I slammed the door and braced against it, as if the guy would try and come back. "Emmett, are you a complete idiot? What the heck are you doing letting others see your bot! You know she's based on a famous model, hence the fool asking for a picture with her!"

"What does it matter if some guy thinks I'm dating Rosalie Hale?" Emmett snapped defiantly.

"Because you're not, and if that picture gets out, the press and her lawyers could be at your door," Bella thankfully stepped in.

"But she's not the real Rosalie, so they can't do anything," Emmett said, just not getting it.

"She's built with parts which were ill-gotten and made for what most would consider nefarious reasons. I don't want to go to jail, and I'm guessing you don't, either!" I shouted at him.

"Crap!" he finally seemed to understand the weight of his actions. "Don't worry, I'll wipe the guy's phone," he said, running off upstairs to his lab. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Wipe his phone? Can Emmett really do that?" Bella asked.

"Yeah, that's nothing for him. Hopefully, he's able to get it before it's spread too much," I worried.

"Remind me not to let him near my phone," she said jokingly.

"Oh, he doesn't need to be near it. Just know where you've been with it," I tried to explain.

Her brow furrowed. "Do you think he could go into my mother's phone and wipe my information from it?" she asked a little hopeful.

"Maybe, it doesn't hurt to ask. We'll do it after dinner," I suggested. I was starving.

We had just finished up eating, when Emmett came into the kitchen. "Problem solved. I wiped it from the guy's phone and all the media outlets he'd sent it to. The only way it'd still be out there is if someone downloaded and printed it immediately. We can always claim the printed picture was a Photoshop fake, because it won't have a digital form to prove otherwise," Emmett said, clapping his hands together and motioning like he was wiping them clean.

"Can you do that with my information and my mother's phone?" Bella asked right away.

"Maybe, I need a location on her phone," he said with a shrug.

We gave him a time and date of her visit, and Bella bot even gave him more exact GPS coordinates to it. He was quick to find her data package. Luckily for us, someone had sent her an email during her visit, pinging her phone's location. It was pretty simple for Emmett to follow her digital trail from there and find her current location.

He hacked her phone and erased several references to Bella. Most were texts between Renee and a couple of other people. He then dug deeper into her phone and found photos of Bella. "Do you want me to wipe these as well?" he asked.

Bella stepped forward and looked at the thumbnails of all the pictures. They covered a wide age range. "Can you send them to me?" She sounded like she had a plan.

"Yeah, I could just put them on a thumb drive for you," he suggested.

"That'll work," Bella said with a grimace. "After you do that, can you delete them all from her phone, except the last one. That was taken just after…" she choked up.

Emmett pulled it up, enlarging it on his screen. We both gasped. My poor sweet Bella was black and blue all over. Her expression was vacant, as she sat on a hospital bed.

"Your mother took this picture of you, and she still wants you to get back with that asshole?" I shouted.

"No, Alice took it and sent it to her. She obviously didn't give a damn," Bella hissed.

"What a bitch. I'm going to make it her new background picture and make a virus, so every time she tries to change it, it'll switch it back to this. Oh, look here, she linked her phone to her iPad, it'll be the new background for that as well. As soon as she syncs it with her computer, I'll give it the same treatment, wiping any trace of you, except for that picture. Maybe she'll grow a conscience," my brother said, gearing up for battle.

Bella had tears in her eyes when she hugged my brother. "Thanks, Emmett."

"Hey, you're my sister now. I won't let anyone hurt you," he said sincerely. Some days, my brother could be pretty awesome.


	11. Chapter 11

**Beta'd by Dollybigmomma.**

 **Check out our books** _ **Phantom Scars**_ **and** _ **A Life Unplanned**_ **on Amazon.**

 **Our penname is Rose Von Barnsley, a mix between mine and Dollybigmomma's last names.**

 **Chapter 11: In the Flesh**

It hit me like a bolt of lightning. I had been going about things all wrong. I had been trying to find a way to attach my prosthetics to the human body seamlessly with a sturdy non-tearing bond, but I hadn't been able to find a way, until now. It was all thanks to Bella and her observation about Bella bot's skin that I started looking at things differently. It'd take time, and the logistics would be complicated, but Bella had made me realize that my bot's skin would never heal or repair itself if damaged. We currently had the technology to grow organs using a 3-D printed mesh and seeding it with predisposed cells. I just needed to design a cover for my prosthetics. I'd be able to grow an actual flesh cover for my work and use an artificial circulatory system to sustain it.

I spent the day pulling up the research and checking grants to see if I could get my own equipment, or if there was equipment I could use within our company. The truth was, no one knew what anyone else was working on in our company. Breakthroughs were closely guarded secrets, and the fewer people who knew what you were working on the better.

I was able to find a few grants, which would cover over half of the cost, but I still needed the company to foot the bill for the rest. I was quick to write up my proposal and request funding for the new equipment, sending the information about the available grant money as well.

I started setting up the programs to monitor and measure the growth of the flesh, when my lab door opened behind me. I jumped, surprised by the noise, not expecting anyone to open the door. Besides myself, only the CEO had the code.

"Edward, how are you doing?" Mr. Volturi asked.

"Great, did you get my request?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes, and I have to say, your idea is fascinating. Do you really believe you can grow actual living flesh over your prosthetic?"

"Yeah, I did some research before I wrote up the proposal. They've had excellent results with other organs. The simplistic function of flesh should make it less complicated. We're not trying to grow active muscles, like a heart," I explained.

"Excellent, I came down to speak with you, because we have a medical 3-D printer already. Dr. King is working on an organ project. He's had great success growing cartilage. Would you be opened to sharing the printer with him?" he asked, but I had a feeling it wasn't really up for discussion.

"If it's what I have to do, then I'll do it. I really want to see my project succeed."

"We all do, Edward. I think you're brilliant, and when your flesh-covered limb replacements hit the market, everyone will know you're brilliant. Have you given any thought to what you'd like to work on once this project is done?" he asked, looking at my mechanical arm.

The truth was, I did have an idea. I wasn't sure if he'd agree to it. "I was thinking about focusing on feminine organ repair."

His eyes shot to mine, surprised. "How did that grab your interest?"

"There are a lot of women who struggle to get pregnant, because they have defective organs. They spend thousands of dollars on procedures that don't always work because of their damaged bodies. Instead of having several procedures to get them pregnant, what if they had one that fixed the problem, so they could do it on their own?"

"Yes! People pay out the nose for fertility treatments, and that's on top of what the insurance companies pay out for them. Your genius strikes again, Edward. You're a real money maker," he said and clapped his hands. "Alright, I'll let Royce know about you getting fifty percent access to the printer. Go ahead and apply for those grants and reinvest that into your work. I assume this feminine organ repair is going to require use of the printer also?"

I nodded yes.

"Good, I'm not sure how much longer Dr. King will be with us. He's been dragging in his work. Once his project is done, you'll be able to take full custody of the printer."

"Thank you, Sir!" I bounced, more than a little excited, and he smiled wider.

"That's what I like about you, Edward, your enthusiasm for work, it never fades. I'll see you later, my boy. Have a nice night," he called back to me as he left.

I couldn't believe it! Not only had I gotten the go-ahead for the flesh project, but my feminine reproduction project to help Bella, too! I couldn't wait to get home to tell her.

I packed up my work and locked up my lab. I was so excited to see her and tell her the great news. I burst in through the front door, "Bella, where are you?" I called, and she answered me from the kitchen. I rushed in there to find her cooking. "We did it! If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have made the breakthrough, and then my boss came down and gave me the go-ahead for my project and the next one I have lined up!" I nearly squealed at her. "You made me look at things differently. You turned my problem around when I was looking at the flesh attachment, and you made it just click!" I jumped up. "It was all thanks to you," I said and grabbed her and kissed her, but it didn't feel right. I let go of her and stepped back, looking her up and down.

"Something wrong, Edward?" I heard Bella say behind me.

"That wasn't you," I said, pointing at what I now knew to be the Bella bot.

She giggled. "Yeah, I saw you come to that conclusion. I'm glad you can tell the difference." She walked over and pulled me down for a kiss.

"Yes, that's much better," I said and kissed her again.

"I'm glad you like me best."

"I'll always like you best," I promised.

"So, big day at work, huh? Sounds exciting. What actually happened?"

"I was working on my arm and thinking about the bot flesh…like you said, you didn't know what might damage it, and I know it wouldn't heal. That'd been bugging me. No matter how seamlessly I connect flesh, it can still be damaged. It wouldn't repair itself like our own flesh, and then it hit me. Flesh! I'll just grow some flesh over my prosthetic, and it'd be self-healing!"

"You can grow flesh?" she asked shocked.

"In theory, that's where the fun comes in. What's even better is…" I wasn't sure if I should tell her about the next project I had lined up. Would she take it wrong? Did she even want to have kids with me?

"What's even better?"

"Nothing," I said, changing my mind. I was too nervous to say anything to her about it.

Her brow furrowed, and she shook her head. "Nope, that's not an acceptable answer. We talked about this, Edward. I know you get nervous about things, but I need you to push through and talk to me."

I bit my lip, not wanting to answer her.

She stepped back and crossed her arms. Now she was getting mad at me, and I hadn't even done anything. I was messing things up with her already.

"Settle down," she said, pulling my inhaler out of my pocket and sticking it in my mouth.

I took a couple of puffs, and she watched me closely. She must have decided I had calmed down enough, because she asked again. "What's even better?"

I bit my lip nervously again, and she pulled it loose and kissed it lightly. "Please, tell me, Edward."

"I basically got the go-ahead for my next project," I said, giving in a little.

"That wasn't so bad. What's your next project?"

I bit my lip again, and she pulled it free once more. "Is that what you don't want to tell me?"

I nodded yes.

"Why?"

I looked at the floor, not sure what to say.

"Edward, what's your next project? Why wouldn't you want to tell me about it?"

"You'll think I'm being too…presumptuous?"

"Presumptuous about what?" she asked. "Just tell me what your next project will be. Let me worry about the rest, okay?"

I tried again, but I still couldn't say anything. I didn't want her to freak out and leave me. What if, after her bad experience, she didn't want to have children at all, and I had read her completely wrong. It wouldn't be the first time I had gotten things wrong.

"Sit down," she said, pushing me down into a chair and pushed the inhaler into my mouth again. "Let's try this again. I'll promise not to freak out about anything, when you tell me what your next project is. Please, Edward, don't lock me out," she sounded so sad.

"It's for you. I'm going to study reproductive organs and how to repair them," I finally whispered.

Her smile was huge, but she started crying. I wasn't sure what that meant. She did finally kiss me hard, so I was leaning toward her being happy. I wished they had a meter I could measure her emotions with and just read the results of it. "I love you," she whispered against my lips.

I let out a relieved sigh and kissed her again, hugging her tight to me. "I love you, too."

"Dinner's done," Bella bot announced.

"She needs a different name," I reminded Bella.

Bella pouted.

"Please, name her already. I called for you and started talking to what I thought was you, and she didn't correct me, because I'd said what's programmed to be her name. She needs a new name, honey."

"Just call her Sister, like I do," she pleaded.

"If I call her Sister, like she's my sister, and you call her sister, and we…ah…" my nose scrunched up a little.

"It's incestuous is what he's trying to say," Emmett butted in. "What's for dinner?" he asked Bella bot.

"Edward's favorite, of course, spaghetti," Bella bot answered.

"You should let me name her," Emmett suggested.

"No, Bella bot is Bella's. She gets to pick the name."

"I don't think of her as a possession. That's just weird. She's my sister."

"Well, what would your sister's name be?" Emmett asked.

"Probably something pretentious, like Isabella. I don't want her to get stuck with a name like that. I'd change my name if I could," Bella said, then her eyes lit up. "That's it! Bella bot, pick your own name," Bella ordered her.

Bella bot was quiet for a moment and seemed to be running different programs to narrow down a name.

"Well, what's your new name?" Emmett asked.

"Victoria, it matches the level of pretentiousness as Isabella, making me a more accurate twin, but it's not too common, and like Bella, I can shorten the name and respond to Vicky."

"Vicky?" Bella didn't seem impressed.

I laughed. "Too late, you let her pick her name, and she did. Welcome to the family, Vicky. That's now your alpha response code. Override all Bella bot name recognition in reference to yourself and only retain the name Bella in reference to her," I instructed Vicky and pointed at Bella.

"Override complete," she stated, making it final. We now lived with Vicky and Bella.

"You should rename Rosalie, too," I told Emmett.

He scrunched up his nose at me like I was crazy. "Why would I ever do that?"

"What if you actually meet Rosalie Hale, in real life?" Bella asked.

"That's not going to happen, unless she likes attics or restricted government buildings. It's not likely we'd cross paths anytime soon," Emmett dismissed.

The doorbell rang, and I looked at Emmett and then Bella. "Are either of you expecting someone?"

"No," they both answered.

"Vicky, security check please. Do you recognize who's at the door?" I asked.

"It's Rosalie Hale," she answered, and Bella laughed.

"Did you program her to tell jokes?" Bella wondered.

"No, I didn't. Emmett, get your bot inside the house before someone sees her!" I snapped.

He rushed to the door, whipping it open and grabbing her, pulling her inside. It was obvious to me by the scream she let out and the furious expression on the woman's face that it was not Rosalie bot at the door. The second hint was when she punched Emmett in the face and then kneed him in the nuts.

"Vicky, stop her!" Bella shouted and was quick to shut the door, trapping the real Rosalie Hale in the house. I didn't know why she was here or how she had found us, but it couldn't be good.


	12. Chapter 12

**Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma.**

 **Twiaddictanne had started a blog called the Scribbler alliance at Wordpress. She did a spotlight on _Better than Pie_. I hope you check it out at scribbleralliance dot wordpress dot com**

 **Also, check out my books, _Phantom Scars_ and _A Life Unplanned_. They're published under the name Rose Von Barnsley, which is a combination of mine and Dollybigmomma's married and maiden names. **

**Chapter 12: Doubling Up**

"Get your hands off me, you freakishly strong lesbian! My boobs were expensive!" Rosalie yelled at Vicky.

"I'm not allowed to engage in sexual acts with anyone," Vicky stated.

Bella helped Emmett up off the floor, and I was completely useless, puffing on my inhaler.

"Vicky will release you as soon as you promise not to hurt anyone," Bella bargained. Then she turned to me, "Oh, for heaven sakes, Edward, sit on the couch and put your head between your knees before you pass out."

I did as she said, because my vision was looking a little fuzzy around the edges. I heard my brother take a couple of puffs on his inhaler, before he joined me on the couch with his head between his knees as well.

"What on earth is wrong with those freaks?" Rosalie snapped.

"They're not freaks!" my sweet girlfriend defended.

"Tell your twin to get her hands off of me! It's obvious I don't need to beat the shit out of these losers, or should I say science fair winners?" she said and held up a blown-up picture of the selfie taken with the Rosalie bot by the delivery guy. In the background were several science fair awards my mother had proudly displayed, with mine and Emmett's names clearly visible. That must have been how she had found us.

"Go ahead and let her go, Vicky, but stay close, just in case she becomes violent again," Bella ordered.

There was another knock on the door. Rosalie answered it like she owned the place. "I'm fine, Rico, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum can't even breathe, let alone hurt me. I'm still trying to decide how to destroy them. I'll give you a call if I need backup," she said to a man who looked like a bodyguard.

Bella took a protective stance next to me. "You will not destroy my boys," Bella said once Rosalie's thug, Rico, was gone.

Rosalie glared at her. "I have every right to destroy your 'boys.' There are rumors going around that I'm cheating on my boyfriend with that guy!" she pointed harshly at Emmett. "Marcus is pissed. The dumbass actually believed it. The fool didn't even take into account that I'm with him ninety percent of the time."

"Sounds like he has trust issues," Bella deduced.

"Actually, he's just stupid. I keep him around because he's good looking, great in bed and good for a laugh, because he's constantly saying stupid stuff."

"That's mean," Emmett wheezed out.

"Most people in my line of business are. Marcus is too stupid to be mean, and usually doesn't realize when someone is making fun of him. That's why I like him. I can give him shit, and he doesn't get offended, but this picture ruined my perfect relationship with the dipwad. He actually believes I'm cheating on him with you!" she shouted at Emmett.

"I took them all down. I deleted them from all online outlets," Emmett answered.

"Yeah, well, you missed a few," Rosalie snapped.

"No, I didn't. My software was written to destroy all traces of military actions and secret ops. There's no way there's anything relating to that picture on the web or on any device that's connected to the web. You must've printed that out in the short window before I erased all signs of it," Emmett explained.

"You're a computer geek?" Rosalie asked Emmett, sounding oddly interested in his profession.

Emmett nodded yes.

"Can you fix my laptop?"

I started giggling. It didn't matter how advanced your computer skills were, for some reason, if you mentioned to someone you knew something about computers, they automatically wanted you to fix theirs. I'd heard mechanics had the same problem.

"Yeah?" I think we all felt a little lost with her change of interest. "What's wrong with it?"

"I don't know. It's been acting all weird and running super slow," she complained.

"Okay." Emmett basically had nothing to go on. "Do you have it with you?"

"No, but if you're really a computer genius like you say you are, you should have no problem fixing it."

Emmett shrugged. "Okay, it's your privacy." He got up and headed to his lab.

"Where'd he go?" she asked Bella.

"I imagine he went to fix your computer."

"He can't really do that from here, can he?" she asked us.

I nodded yes, and so did Bella. She looked down the hall where Emmett had disappeared and then stormed after him. That wasn't good. I was sure Rosalie bot was in his lab. We rushed after her.

"Can you make me a sandwich?" we heard Emmett ask Rosalie bot.

"Who the hell is that?" Rosalie shouted.

"I'm Rosalie Hale," came the answer to her question.

"The hell you are, I'm Rosalie Hale! How the hell do you look so much like me? Did you have plastic surgery? Are you an obsessive stalker in love with me or something?"

"No, I'm programmed to be Emmett's girlfriend if he behaves like a gentleman."

"Does he behave like a gentleman?"

"Not always, but he's punished for his bad behavior."

"Is he kinky?" Rosalie looked disgusted.

"I think he probably is, but that's not the kind of punishment she's talking about. He gets slapped or electrocuted if he's crude, disrespectful, or tries to touch her inappropriately. I believe he's earned his way up to the girlfriend stage, though. Edward wanted her to react like a live woman would," Bella answered.

"Live?" Rosalie walked up to her bot slowly and then poked her cheek. She circled it a few time and then stopped in front of her, staring at her face closely. "Is it made from human parts?"

"No," I answered, but that was as much as I was going to get out in the presence of a strange woman.

She took the bot's hand and rubbed the faux flesh. "What does she look like under her clothes? Does she look human, or is it all robot stuff?"

"She's a perfect replica of you, though she doesn't have your personality."

"Oh man," Emmett moaned, catching all of our attention.

On his screen looked to be a live feed into Rosalie's home, viewed from her laptop camera. There was a man who was fucking a woman in a maid's outfit. The fact that she was screaming out the name Marcus in pleasure made it clear who the man was. Rosalie shoved Emmett to the side to get a better look. "That dirty bastard! He has the gall to accuse me of cheating, when he's the one doing it?" She whipped out her phone, and we could hear another phone start ringing on the other end at her house. It looked like he was going to ignore it at first, but he finally stopped and answered it.

"Hello, beautiful," he said stupidly.

"Take your cheating ass and whore of a maid and get out of my house!" Rosalie shouted at him.

"What are you talking about? I'd never cheat on you," he lied.

"Get off my bed right now, and tell that fucking whore, Dora, she's fired!"

We could see Dora glaring at the phone. She scoffed and then got up and headed to the dresser. It looked like she was going to steal something.

"You tell that bitch to stay out of my dresser and put down my jewelry. This is all being recorded, and I'll send her ass to jail!"

"Shit!" Marcus hissed and looked around the room for a hidden camera. They still weren't leaving.

"I'll get rid of them for you," Emmett said smoothly then pulled up a separate screen on a different monitor and hacked into her home security system, setting it off. The cheating pair frantically tried to turn it off, but Emmett apparently had erased the dismissal code. They finally gave up and ran for the front door, only to realize it was locked and wouldn't open.

"She has electronic locks, so freaking cool. They'll be stuck in there until the cops come, and then they can be arrested for trespassing," he explained to Rosalie.

The home security company called Rosalie, and she followed Emmett's lead and told them Marcus and Dora were trespassers, and she was out of town. We all watched as the police arrived and carted them off. Rosalie was solemnly silent.

"Sorry about your boyfriend," Emmett whispered. "I was able to fix your computer, though," he said with a little smile, trying to cheer her up.

She laughed at him. "You hack the world and build doppelgangers?"

"No, I hack the world, and my brother builds the doppelgangers. He's a biomechanical engineer."

She looked over at me, and I waved nervously. Bella leaned into my side and kissed my cheek.

"Are they real or fake?" Rosalie asked, pointing at Bella and Vicky.

"I'm real and she's my copy. She's programmed to do everything I ask her, including deal with my mother," Bella explained.

"Your mom couldn't tell it wasn't you?" Rosalie asked in disbelief.

"Say what people want to hear and they'll believe anything. Vicky does most of my work. I usually just goof around, doing whatever I want." I could tell Bella was trying to sell Rosalie on the idea of her bot not being a bad thing.

"Can you train them to model or act?"

"I don't know about act, but probably model. She can be programmed to do interviews, or promotions. Basic everyday interaction with humans can be programmed, acting can be more complex, because emotions which the bots don't feel need to be conveyed. They could be programmed to make facial expressions, but I imagine following instructions from your directors can be a little more challenging," I explained, feeling proud that I only had to use my inhaler at the end.

"That makes sense. I'd still be the money maker, but she'd do the dirty work," Rosalie contemplated.

"I've put the spaghetti in the oven to keep it warm," Vicky interrupted us.

"Spaghetti? Please tell me it's the real stuff and not kelp noodles. I need real carbs. If she can do my photo shoot tomorrow, I'm pigging out tonight."

"It's not kelp noodles, and there's cheesy garlic bread," Bella said, enticing Rosalie further.

"Bitch, yes, I'm inviting myself for dinner, and then you're fixing her to take my place," Rosalie cheered. "Don't even think about saying no. You owe me," she glared.

Dinner was an interesting affair. Rosalie seemed to be enjoying the spaghetti even more than I did. She was most of the way through her second helping, when Emmett finally broke down.

"You can't take her, I love her. She's my girlfriend!" he cried about his bot.

"Emmett, she's modeled after Rosalie, an unauthorized replica I might add, so it's only right she gets first dibs on her," I explained, trying to appease Rosalie. We'd be lucky if she didn't sue us.

"That's not fair!" he cried. "Just because you gave Bella her Bella bot, doesn't mean I should have to give Rosalie my Rosie. What if she mistreats her? I don't want anyone to hurt her," he worried.

Rosalie looked at him like he was nuts. "She's just a robot, right? I'm not missing anything important, am I?"

"She _is_ just a robot, but she's been programmed to show a predisposition for Emmett, if he behaves. It's not surprising he's attached to her, but like Edward said, because she's modeled after you, you get first dibs. Keep in mind, you can't let anyone else see her. You don't want your secret of having a double getting out."

"You're right. I can't keep her at my house. It'd be too dangerous. The paps are always getting into my bushes, not to mention the random pop-ins by my agent. No, that wouldn't do. I can't be seen in two places at once."

"No, but keeping us in the loop is a good idea. Like before, Emmett can erase any slip-ups from the internet if you're both accidentally seen," Bella bargained. "I'd also be willing to give up my room and bunk with Edward when you send her out to take your place. Vicky is a great cook, not to mention the pizza and Chinese places are on our speed dial."

"Pizza, oh man, do you know how long it's been since I've had pizza? Show me this room you're talking about. Does it have a TV?" she asked.

"Yes, it does," Bella said with a grin, leading her down the hall.

Rosalie flopped on the bed. "Quaint but comfy, I'll take it."

"Okay, Rosalie bot will need to be given a history, so she knows how to react appropriately to people. If you have pictures on your phone of them we can upload to her, that'd be best. If not, we can find them online. We can give her basic answers and have her run over what's expected in a photo shoot. You can maybe show her a few moves or something. I don't know what modeling actually entails," I explained.

Rosalie laughed at me, but then took her bot's hand. Bella helped her program her bot, and then we set up a link so Rosalie could watch the shoot through her bot's eyes tomorrow and give her any pointers if they were needed. They traded clothes, and Emmett reluctantly handed over his bot's charge cord, before Rose sent her off with Rico, her bodyguard and driver.

For our sake, I hoped the switch worked.


	13. Chapter 13

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 **NOT BETA'D YET!**

 **Hotwired 13: Out and Out**

Emmett and I had to go to work the next morning. Rosalie wasn't up when we left. She had gorged herself on spaghetti, so I didn't have any leftovers to take for lunch. I tried not to let it get me down. At least I still had my girl. Emmett looked pretty rough without Rosalie bot.

When I arrived at work, I was confronted by Royce King in the hallway before I could enter my lab.  
"That printer is mine!" he snapped.

"I don't plan to monopolize it. I'll just be printing skin," I tried to explain.

"There's no way I'm letting you use it. It's busy working on my project. You're not getting any time on it, because there is no time. I have to complete my project, and you're not stopping me!" he shouted and stormed away. This day was shaping up to be just great.

I sent a quick message to HR about my encounter with Royce. There were cameras in the hallway, so there was no way he could talk his way out of the confrontation.

I took skin and DNA samples from my cadaver, so I could cultivate specimens to work with. I then moved on to taking measurements of my prosthetic. I needed to have a net base that would fit it to grow the skin on.

I heard shouting outside of my lab and opened the blind to the mini window in the door. Royce was being led out by security. Unfortunately, he saw Bella in the hallway. She hurried to my door, and I quickly pulled her inside. I was sure Royce had gotten a good look at her, but I hoped he didn't try to exact revenge on me for him being fired. From what I understood, he had been on the verge of being let go for a while. His confrontation with me was just the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"Hey, Bella, what are you doing here?" I asked with a smile.

"I'm Vicky. I brought you lunch. Bella knew there was no spaghetti left over and thought she'd make your second favorite, baked macaroni and cheese."

"You shouldn't be out of the house, and you sure as heck shouldn't be here!" I hissed, looking around.

"Bella was busy and wanted me to bring you your lunch and then run some errands."

"Your new orders are to go straight home. I'll call Bella, you just get out of here, and don't talk to anyone. Now go!" I urged, hoping she didn't run into anyone in the hallway.

I paced back and forth. I had to find a way to tell Bella she could never send Vicky to my work. I waited another twenty minutes, hoping that would be enough time for Vicky to get home, and then I called Bella.

"Why did you send her home?" Bella asked annoyed.

I took a deep breath. "Honey, could you please come to my office?" I begged. I was pretty sure our phone conversations were recorded for security reasons.

She hung up the phone on me, and I sank into the chair. Today was really sucking. I pulled out the food Vicky had brought and took my lunch break.

It was nearly an hour later when Bella showed up. She was looking nervous now, not upset.

"Did you like the macaroni and cheese?" she asked. I was starting to get suspicious.

"Yes, you know I love it. Is something wrong? You sounded upset on the phone when I spoke to you last. I just wanted to explain to you that Vicky can never come here." I moved closer to whisper in her ear, "If you stole a car, would you take it back to the dealer you stole it from and drive it around the lot?" I asked her, hoping she understood my point.

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. What worried me was when she grimaced afterwards. "Edward, I have some bad news."

"What is it?"

"Vicky was stabbed in the parking lot, and she used her defense protocol to throw the guy across the lot."

"Parking lot? What parking lot are you talking about?" I asked, pulling out my inhaler.

"The one here," she said timidly. I took a couple of puffs and sat down, trying to gain some sanity. Maybe no one had seen the incident. No one would review the footage if nothing had been reported, right?

"I'm so sorry, Edward."

My lab door opened, and Aro came in. "Edward, there was something I wanted to speak to you about," he said, eyeing Bella.

"This is my girlfriend, Isabella Swan," I said, introducing them.

Aro took her hand to shake, but held it a little longer and seemed to focus on her abdomen. "Were you here earlier today?" he asked her.

My eyes widened. Thank heavens she said yes.

"Security said there was a confrontation with one of our ex-employees and yourself. Are you alright, Ms. Swan?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking."

"They said it looked like you were stabbed, but you don't appear to be."

"No, I moved out of the way. I'm pretty agile. I've taken a lot of self-defense classes. I'm not someone you want to meet in a dark alley," she said, trying to cover for me.

"We have a nurse on staff for accidents. I insist you get checked out by her."

"I'm fine, really," Bella said, trying to beg off.

"I must insist for legal reasons. I'm sure Edward can show you the way," Aro insisted.

"Come on, Bella. She'll see you're fine and send us on our way," I encouraged.

We went down to the nurse's office. Aro followed us and told her to give Bella a full exam. Bella sat quietly on the table, while the nurse examined her. The nurse had to physically push Aro out of the room, when she asked Bella to undress and put the gown on. I was sure Aro had looked over the security tapes and wanted to see if there was a stab wound.

Of course, Bella checked out fine and was given a clean bill of health. I was still worried about Aro's interest in her. I hoped she learned never to send Vicky out again.

When I arrived home that evening, I found Emmett pouting in the living room. He was sitting across from Rosalie and Bella. Vicky was down in my lab, awaiting repairs.

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

"I was just telling Emmett he should get to know Rosalie a little better. Instead of pining away for an imitation, he could actually talk to the real thing," Bella explained.

"I don't want to talk to the real thing. She's mean. She dated a guy just so she could make fun of him. I want my Rosie. She loved me." Emmett looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"You'd make fun of him, too. He called me one day all excited. You know why?" Rosalie asked, and we shook our heads no. "He'd just found out he was born on his birthday. He thought that was a pretty exciting coincidence."

"But it's his BIRTH day, did he not make that connection?" Emmett asked.

"Nope, still hasn't. Of course, when he asked me about it, I told him he was lucky, because I wasn't born on my birthday," she snickered. "I liked to mess with him. Do me a favor and say something stupid, so I don't miss the cheating bastard."

"The human face is rarely symmetrical, yet we're most attracted to that characteristic," Emmett blurted out.

"That's not quite what I meant…" Rosalie said, looking at Emmett like he was a nut. It wasn't our fault we were smart.

"Edward, why don't you try and say something stupid?" Rosalie asked.

Bella nodded, trying to encourage me to come up with something dumb. I guess she thought it was important to make Rosalie feel at home. "Buttering up someone doesn't actually involve butter. I did considered having Vicky make a sculpture out of butter for Bella when she was feeling sad, though. Would you have liked that?" I asked Bella.

She pulled me down for a kiss. I think that was a yes. Why did women have to be so hard to read?

"You suck at saying stupid stuff, but I can see why Bella likes you," Rosalie complained, or complimented. I was not sure which it was.

"I need to go work on Vicky. Thank heavens she was functional enough to get home, or we'd have had a huge problem on our hands," I said, dismissing myself and heading down to my lab.

Vicky had herself laid out on the table with her shirt unbuttoned just enough to show her "stab wound."

Royce had obviously been trying to kill her, because it was right over her heart. Luckily, she wasn't human. The only thing he had stabbed was faux flesh and wires. The wires were easy enough to replace. I was sad to see the damaged flesh, though. Just like Bella had pointed out to me in the past, Vicky couldn't heal. I grabbed my medical kit and pulled out my surgical glue. It'd have to do. I just hoped it held.

"How's she look?" Bella asked nervously. I hadn't even heard her come down the stairs.

"The flesh is permanently damaged, but the important operating systems are fine. It's just a bit of wire damage. Nothing a little soldering won't fix."

"Are you still mad at me?" she asked in a whisper.

I looked up at her confused. "Mad?"

She nodded her head yes.

Was I mad at her? I didn't think so. I was worried and a little upset, but not mad. She had seen my point of view as soon as I had made what the issue was clear to her. I wasn't mad, though. "I wasn't mad."

She bit her lip and came forward slowly, as if I would change my mind. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, quite. Once I presented my case, you understood and agreed with me that discretion where Vicky is concerned is important. I don't see anything to be upset about."

"But I sent her out, and she came back damaged."

"That wasn't your doing. I have a feeling Royce King isn't mentally stable. He'd yelled at me earlier in the day. I'm pretty sure that was why he was fired. I'm sorry he lashed out at you."

"He didn't lash out at _me._ "

"He thought he did, and that's bad enough. Actually, I'm thankful you did send Vicky," I said, as I suddenly realized that if Bella had come herself, she'd be dead right now. I pulled her into my arms, needing her close. "I'm so glad you're okay." Maybe she should have Vicky do all the errands and Bella stay home, so she'd never be put at risk. I wondered if she'd see that as me being overprotective.

"I think the food is sort of burning, or about to burn. I'm not sure. I don't know how to cook!" Rosalie yelled down the stairs.

"I'd better go finish dinner. You still love me?" Bella asked, and I kissed her deeply, so she'd know I did.

"Always," I promised. Nothing would ever change my feelings for her. Even if she had unknowingly put my whole career at risk, when she had sent Vicky to my lab. I had a feeling Aro had examined the footage of the attack closely. Being a company which dealt with biological repair, I understood why he was so interested in Bella's quick recovery, or lack thereof. I didn't know what angle the cameras had caught it at, but that didn't matter anymore. Aro's interest had been piqued, and I needed to divert him. I needed my brother's help. If anyone could doctor the footage, it'd be Emmett. I just hoped he wasn't too upset with me to do it.


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks to the beautiful Dollybigmomma for betaing this chapter.**

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 **Chapter 14: Muss and Fuss**

Emmett was still in a bad mood, when I came back upstairs from my lab. I had Vicky repaired and sent her off to Bella for instructions. Rosalie had ordered pizza for dinner. It was a food she had long since been deprived of. I didn't really care at this point, as long as she was happy and kept our secret.

I found Emmett pouting in his lab. He was cuddling a nighty. I knew I should say something, but decided to ignore it, because I didn't want to start a fight with him.

"I miss her," he cried.

This was going to be a challenge. "She'll be back soon. Significant others take long trips all the time. Look at dad. We haven't seen him for years," I said with a shrug.

"I'm not stupid, Edward. I know dad left mom. No business trip lasts ten years," he griped.

"It might. Mom said she still talks to him, and he asks about us." It wasn't a lie. I was pretty sure it had been him on the phone, when I had overheard her berating him for being a horrible father. We weren't the kind of boys he had been hoping for. Neither of us were manly. We didn't play sports and were both horribly allergic to the outdoors. When he had left, we'd both had braces, thick glasses, inhalers, and received allergy shots on a regular basis. We were scrawny and bullied. Calling us socially awkward would have been a compliment.

My dad blamed my mother for the way we had turned out. He didn't understand it was genetics and just as much his fault as hers and completely out of either of their control. My mother had lied to us and told us he had gone away on a business trip, but I knew better, and I guess Emmett did, too.

"Your Rosie will be back soon. I'm sure the real Rosalie will get sick of staying in our little house and bring her back here for hiding," I said, trying to comfort him.

"I asked her how long she was going to keep my girl out there, and she said a week. A whole week, Edward. What if something happens to her? What if someone attacks her like they did Vicky?"

He had a point. "We'll figure something out. I'll talk to her after dinner."

"Thanks, Edward."

"I need your help with something. As you already know, Vicky was stabbed in my work parking lot. Could you please pull up the surveillance? I need to know what Aro saw, and I need to find a way to make it look like Bella is not a super human."

"Sure thing, Bro." He pulled up the video with disturbing ease. My work was supposed to have top security to keep our research safe. It was obviously no match for Emmett, though. He found the right time and played the video over on a loop, so we could analyze it. It was pretty damning. Royce had full-on stabbed her in the chest. The view was clear. Vicky just outright grabbed him like nothing had happened and chucked him with one hand, tossing him an easy four car lengths. "I see why Aro is so interested in your girlfriend now."

"We need to get rid of this. Can you scrub it from the server completely?"

"Yeah, let me see if I can patch a few things together and make it look like Royce just walked out. Vicky tossed him in the right direction, so I may be able to line up the footage from when he stood up and when he was walking before he saw Vicky."

"Thank you, Emmett."

"Just get my Rosie back, please," he begged.

"I'll work on it. The incident with Vicky will help me make my case. We can't have our bots exposed."

"No, we can't. Thanks, Edward."

Dinner was tense. I was trying to get up the courage to talk to Rosalie. I think Bella could tell I needed to say something to Rosalie. She took my hand under the table, and that simple touch was enough for me to remember I had almost lost her.

I pulled her into my arms, holding back tears. She was everything to me. I didn't know what I'd do if I had lost her. She wrapped her arms around me, hugging me in return. She pulled back a little and cupped my face. "I'm fine, Edward. I promise," she tried to reassure me.

"But what if it'd been you, Bella? I can't lose you. If you'd…"

"It wasn't me. I'm fine," she said and kissed me.

"I watched the footage. You would've died instantly. He stabbed you right in the heart," I sobbed. Even though I knew it was Vicky who had been stabbed, she looked like Bella. I held her tighter, not ready to let her go.

"If you squeeze her any tighter, she'll be dead. Let go and eat your pizza," Rosalie said, sounding annoyed.

"Leave him alone," Emmett snapped at her.

She looked at him, surprised he had spoken that way to her.

I pulled myself together. I knew I had to have my brother's back. He had mine. "Rosalie, I think we should have the bot start coming home when possible."

"Why?"

"I think we've proven with Vicky that her risk of exposure is high. She just needs to cross the wrong person to be outted."

"I have a bodyguard who'll keep the people back."

"Yes, but if she defends herself against someone, it'll be obvious she's not you. She's programmed to attack people who are crude and disrespectful to her. Being a bot, she's very strong. Emmett had to cover up Vicky throwing a guy four car lengths with one hand after being stabbed in the heart. If your bot does something like that…"

Emmett jumped in. "I'll bet people say rude, offensive things all the time to you because you're so hot. That wouldn't be an issue if you talked to them. They'd see what a meanie you are and not want to be around you anymore."

"I can't believe you're still stuck on the way I treated Marcus. He was a cheating bastard! Get over it already," Rosalie snapped.

"Okay, enough fighting. The point is the Rosie bot needs to come back here to minimize her risk of exposure. It probably would be good for Edward to do some maintenance on her systems and reprogram her again as well," Bella said, backing us both.

"Fine, I'll have her brought back here, but we need to come up with a cover story, and it's _not_ going to be that I'm dating that asshole," she said, pointing at Emmett.

"You can be an old friend of mine," Bella suggested.

"Yeah, that might work. You can be my lesbian lover or something."

"You're a lesbian?" Emmett squeaked.

"No, but it'd boost my image a bit if they thought I was. Guys like lesbians, and since I've dated men before, I'll actually be classified as bisexual."

I was suddenly thankful the Rosie bot had been fried and reprogrammed with no memory of her sexual past. The last thing we needed was Emmett's nefarious acts with her getting out. It seemed like a subject the real Rosalie was comfortable with and would ask the Rosie bot about. I just hoped Bella kept her mouth shut about it, too. I'd have to make sure that history was erased from Vicky as well. We couldn't have it getting out that I had made sex bots. I was pretty sure that'd really piss off the real Rosalie...or maybe it wouldn't. The way she was eyeing Bella was making me nervous. I pulled Bella closer to me, claiming her as mine. I didn't do threesomes.

When Rosalie's bodyguard, Rico, pulled up to our house, he looked a little confused. He didn't know why his boss would want to visit us again, after witnessing how upset she had been with us before.

Rosie bot's reaction to Emmett baffled him even more. She hugged and kissed him, saying she had missed him. The real Rosalie might not have wanted word to get out she was dating Emmett, but I had a feeling that was going to be out of her control.

The Rosie bot quickly dismissed Rico and told him she'd be staying with us for the night. He asked if she was sure about it several times over before he left. It was only after she insisted Emmett was her boyfriend and she loved him that he gave in.

Rosie and Emmett disappeared up to his room, and the real Rosalie came out of hiding. "You have to reprogram her. She's going to ruin my reputation by saying she's dating that geek. What the hell are they doing? He'd better not be having sex with me!" she growled.

"Their relationship hadn't reached the sexual stage last I knew," I said, trying to calm her down.

"Maybe having people believe you're dating Emmett is a good thing. They'll think you're more accessible. The average guy might think they have a chance and raise your fan base," Bella speculated.

"People are going to jack off to pictures of me no matter what. They don't care if they think they have a shot with me or not. That's not what they fantasize about," she said with a huff.

"I can't take her away from Emmett any more than I already have," I said, putting my foot down.

"You said she was mine now. She was made to look like me," Rosalie snapped.

"Yes, but you've seen what a computer genius Emmett is. Do you really want him to turn on you for stealing his girlfriend?" I asked.

"I hadn't thought of that," Bella said. "That could be bad, Rosalie. I've seen him do stuff to Edward when he was upset."

"What do you mean? What did he do?"

"He reprogrammed his robot dog to attack him. You've seen how quick he can hack into things and erase stuff. I have a feeling he could put stuff out there just as fast."

"Are you threatening me?" Rosalie sneered.

"NO! Never! Emmett can just be temperamental. He loves your bot, Rosalie. He's not going to mistreat her. Can't you just let him have her when you're not using her?" Bella begged.

Emmett and the Rosie bot came out of his room. "Bella, do you have any detangler? Those show people made a mess of her hair," he said pouting, as he caressed Rosie bot's blonde locks. "Don't worry, honey, I'll fix it. They didn't hurt you when they did it, did they?" he said, trying to comfort his Rosie bot.

"Oh, for heaven sakes, she's just a robot. She doesn't feel anything," the real Rosalie snapped, annoyed.

"Actually, she does. I put sensor all through her skin, so she _would_ feel the sensation of someone pulling her hair," I explained.

Rosalie looked stunned. "Are you serious?"

"I wanted her to react as human as possible," I said, wondering why she didn't realize that before.

"Bella, do you have something for feet, too? They had my Rosie's feet scrunched up in high heels the whole time she was gone. Do they hurt, baby?" he asked her.

"They do hurt. I would like to go barefoot at home," the Rosie bot answered.

"Of course, and I'll take care of your feet, too, once we get that mess out of your hair. I promise to be gentle with it," Emmett said, fussing over his Rosie bot.

"I'll get what you need to take care of her, Emmett. Do you want me to bring it up to your room?" Bella asked.

"Yes, please. I need to take care of my girl," Emmett said, rubbing his bot's arm and ushered her back to his room.

Rosalie stood there with an expression I couldn't identify. "I need ice cream," she mumbled and went to the kitchen in search of her treat.

I'd have to ask Bella about Rosalie's reaction later. I was relieved Rosalie had stopped fighting us about reprogramming her bot, though. I really hoped she didn't bring it up again. That wasn't something I was willing to do. I did wish I could reprogram the real Rosalie, though. That'd make life a whole lot simpler.


	15. Chapter 15

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 **Chapter 15: Pampering 101**

I heard Bella getting some stuff from the bathroom. I was about to offer her my assistance, when Rosalie cut me off. "Hey, are you taking that to Emmett?" she asked Bella.

"Yeah," Bella answered nervously.

Rosalie sat her bowl of ice cream in the empty foot soaking tub and took it from Bella. "I'm going to be supervising him," she announced. We knew there was no way around it.

I followed them up to Emmett's room. Bella knocked on the door, and Emmett called for her to come in.

"I'm in the bathroom!" he shouted out to us.

Rosie bot was wrapped in a robe, sitting in one of his computer chairs. It was lowered and reclined beside the tub. He was sitting on the edge of the tub, his sleeve and pant legs rolled up. He had a large cup of water he was pouring over Rosie bot's hair.

"You're not fucking my bot!" Rosalie snapped.

Emmett glared at her. "This is all your fault! Look at her feet!" he squealed at her. I saw Bella bite her lip, trying to hold back her laugh at Emmett's response.

"Sore feet is just part of being a woman. She'd better buck up, because there's a whole hell of a lot more where that came from," Rosalie countered.

"I won't let you hurt her. If you like to be tortured, then you go back to work. I won't let you send her in again."

"I don't like to be tortured, that's why she's taking my place," Rosalie countered.

"If you don't like your job, then you need to quit," Emmett snapped.

"I can't quit. I'm under contract and will have to pay a five-million-dollar penalty if I break it."

"How much longer is left on your contract?" I asked her out of curiosity.

"The studio owns me for the next three years," she said with a sneer. I had a feeling she'd had a few confrontations about her contract before. "I can't afford to break the contract. Especially right now. We're going to be doing promotions for the film that was just released. If I do anything to jeopardize the profits, such as quitting and not promoting it, I can be sued for damages and loss of revenue."

"When will you be done with promoting your movie?" Bella asked.

"It'll be over in three months," Rosalie said with a frown.

"How much would damages be?" Emmett asked.

"Does it matter? I don't have millions, and by the looks of this place, neither do you," Rosalie snapped. She put down the foot bath and picked up her ice cream.

"Edward, do you think we can rearrange a few things?" Emmett asked. I knew he wanted to buy out Rosalie's contract.

"What's the point, Emmett? If we buy her out of her contract, what's to stop her from signing into another one?" I wanted to help Emmett, but Rosie bot was a cash cow for Rosalie.

"Put her under contract with you guys," Bella suggested.

"What the hell are you people talking about?" Rosalie growled.

Bella was on to something. If we could get Rosalie under contract, then we'd own her imagine, legitimizing Rosie bot.

"The guys are discussing buying out your contract," Bella explained.

"Are they deaf? I said it'd take millions," Rosalie said in a duh voice.

Bella smirked at her and leaned into my side. "My boyfriend's looking even hotter now, isn't he? Not only does he have an amazing mind, and is adorably cute and sweet, but the boys are rich, Rosalie. They live here, because they like the house. Genius like theirs doesn't come cheap." Bella pulled me down for a deep kiss.

"You can buy me out of my contract?" Rosalie sounded hopeful.

"If you sign another one with us. We can't have you running off and starting something that'll force us to buy you out again," I explained.

"I should finish up the last three months. It's only fair to the other actors I worked with on the movie," Rosalie conceded.

"You tell your people to be nice to my Rosie. She doesn't need the crazy shoes or goopy hair to look good," Emmett complained.

"Fine, I'll tell my stylist to back off a little, but she has to wear what's given to her, even if you don't like it," Rosalie compromised. At least she was trying.

"I'll write up a contract for Rosalie. Can you get your current contract from the studio, so I can look at the buyout protocol?" Bella asked.

"You guys are really going to do this for me?" Rosalie asked in disbelief.

"I think it'd be for the best if we did. That way we can minimize the risk of exposure," I explained.

"You guys need to go. You're making it hard for my Rosie to relax," Emmett complained, kicking us out.

"I'm not leaving. I told you I'm staying. You're not fucking my bot," Rosalie reiterated.

"Fine, just sit over there and leave us alone," Emmett said, pouting.

Bella pulled me out into the hallway, but tugged me toward my lab, not our bedroom. "We need to keep an eye on Emmett and Rosalie. I don't trust them not to try and kill each other."

She was probably right, so we went to the lab and pulled up the feed on Rosie bot. Her eyes were closed, but the sound was still clear.

It was quiet at first, save for the sound of the water, then Rosalie spoke up. "You're doing it wrong. You're going to make it worse if you don't go heavy on the conditioner. You can only wash so much out before you strip her hair. Wait, does she make natural oils for her own hair?"

I pulled up the communication link for Rosie bot and told her yes. Of course she thought it was Rosie bot who was answering her.

There was a sigh, and we could hear a shuffling. Rosie opened her eyes, and we could see Rosalie kicking off her shoes. "Watch out, I'll do it. Get me a hairbrush," she said, ordering Emmett around. He hesitated at first, but then did as she asked.

I checked Rosie bot's pain receptors, and they didn't seem to be going off anywhere other than her feet. Emmett was getting the foot bath ready and got to work on her feet.

"I'm not going to let you have sex with her. I don't know why you're doing this crap," Rosalie complained, but kept working.

"She's my girlfriend. I'm going to take care of her no matter what," Emmett said with a huff.

"Emmett's a very good boyfriend," Rosie bot defended her man.

"Have you had sex with him?" Rosalie asked her.

"No," she answered simply, and Bella looked at me shocked.

"She got fried, remember? She has no record of her and Emmett's previous relationship, thank heavens," I said relieved.

"You haven't had sex, and you're pampering her?" Rosalie asked Emmett, shocked. I wondered how he'd respond to that. His memory wasn't wiped.

"Well, she's my girlfriend. We're taking it slow, developing our relationship on a deeper level," he said, covering his own butt.

"We need to get her under contract before the truth comes out," Bella said worried.

"I think that'd be for the best as well," I agreed.

Rosie bot started moaning, when Emmett began massaging her feet and calves.

"Take it easy there, girly, you're not getting any, either. There's no way I'm letting you have sex with Emmett," Rosalie chastened Rosie bot.

"She should be able to make her own choices," Emmett snapped.

"Choices? She's not making any choices, she's a programmed robot, not a thinking human," Rosalie snapped.

"She has a sliding adjusting program. She changes her behavior on her own. It's just as good as making her own choices," Emmett defended Rosie bot.

"I am programmed, Emmett. I do make adjustments, but they're based on the code that's prewritten for me." I was surprised by Rosie bot's response.

"But you love me, don't you?" Emmett asked her pitifully.

"I've been programmed to have a predisposition for you, so yes, by human social standards, our interactions equal a loving relationship," she explained further. I could see Emmett's face falling. He'd known that was the truth the whole time. I didn't know why it was just now sinking in and bothering him.

"Hey, she's not dumping you," Rosalie said, and I think that shocked us all. It sounded like she was trying to actually comfort my brother.

"No, I won't dump you, unless you behave in such a manner that requires it. You're a very good boyfriend by human standards," Rosie bot praised him.

"Human standards, what else would you go by, robot standards?" Rosalie scoffed at her.

"Settle down, let's just get her cleaned up and put to bed. I'll give you a massage and plug you in for a good charge and systems update, okay, Rosie?" Emmett said, trying to change the subject.

"I was worried the two Rosalie's might end up in a cat fight there for a minute," Bella said chuckling.

"You're only treating her this way because you want to have sex with her. That's not going to happen," Rosalie snapped at Emmett.

"She's jealous," Bella said with a smirk.

I looked at Bella confused.

"Rosie's my girlfriend. I love her. No matter what, I'd take care of her. That's what I do for family and friends," Emmett said appalled.

"Prove it," Rosalie snapped.

"Prove it? How am I supposed to prove it?" Emmett asked, baffled.

"There's a round of interviews before a formal dinner. I was going to send the bot, but I'll go myself, if you promise to take care of me like you are her," Rosalie said shrewdly.

Bella surprised me, when she hit the Rosie bot's speech button and said, "Do it." She had become well verse with that function, because she and Rosalie would use it when it came to hard questions during Rosie bot's interviews.

Emmett looked suspiciously between the two Rosalie's. "I don't know, Rosie. You wouldn't really want me handling another woman, would you?" he asked, sounding a little hurt.

"Emmett, my primary function was to teach you how to interact with a live woman and develop a meaningful relationship with one. It's time to put into practice what you've learned," Bella said, using the Rosie bot's voice. If anyone other than Rosie bot said it, I didn't think he would have ever considered doing anything with a live woman.

His eyes darted between the two women again, but he finally let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll do it, but just to save Rosie from having to go through that torture again," he said with a huff.

Rosalie looked smug.

"I don't want her taking advantage of him," I worried.

"Do you trust me, Edward?" Bella said with a smirk.

"Yes, of course I do," I answered immediately.

"Do you trust that I care about your brother and don't want him hurt, either?" she asked.

I hesitated on answering that. They'd had a few good rows about things.

She looked at me exasperated and whacked my arm. "Edward, I'm not going to let her hurt him. Just trust me on this. I think there's more to Rosalie than meets the eye. She's hurting for a good man, and believe it or not, I think your brother could be one," she said, tipping her chin up at me.

She had me confused. "I don't understand."

"Edward, Rosalie has never had a sweet man pamper and take care of her. She's never gotten to experience how wonderful someone like you is," she said and pulled me down for a kiss. "I just believe there's an Edward deep down in your brother somewhere."

"An Edward."

"An amazing boyfriend," she said, frustrated. "I have the most wonderful boyfriend in the world, and I think Emmett might have the makings to be one, too. Just trust me on this."

I eyed her suspiciously. Did she really think I was an amazing boyfriend?

"What are you thinking about now?" she asked.

"I'm just trying to figure out if you actually believe what you said is true," I said, confused.

"If I was hurt and needed regular medical assistance during my recovery, would you hire me a nurse?" she asked.

"I'm a qualified doctor, Bella. I know I don't do general practice, but I'm fully qualified to take care of you and would do whatever it took to help you with any therapy you'd need. Is something wrong?" I asked, looking over her body worried.

When I made it up to her eyes, they were watering. "See, Edward. You'd drop everything to take care of me. That's what makes you wonderful. I love you," she said, kissing me again.

I kissed her, but pulled back, still worried. "But are you okay? Do you need medical attention? It's important to get on top of medical issues before they get out of hand."

"I'm fine, sweetheart. I was just making a point. I love you, and you're wonderful."

I let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. You know I'd do anything for you. I love you, too." And I did, more than anything in the world.

Bella reached over and turned off the link to Rosie bot. "Come on, honey, let's go to the bedroom, so I can show you just how wonderful I think you are," she said with a sexy grin.

I got up and followed her quickly. When Bella showed her appreciation, I was usually the one who appreciated it the most.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Compelling Arguments**

Things at work were getting strained. Aro seemed to be popping into my lab more often and asking me about Bella. Even with the footage deleted and scrubbed from existence, he couldn't seem to let the incident go.

"Are you going to be bringing her to the company picnic?" he asked.

I had never attended one. I didn't know why he thought that would change. For a company full of geniuses, they weren't very smart. Attendance was low, because they had so many athletic event, and the majority of their employees were not athletically inclined.

"Not likely. I usually don't go."

"But you must, it's a family affair, and you have a significant other to bring now. You need to show her off. She's a beautiful girl, Edward. You wouldn't want her thinking you were ashamed of her. Just because she isn't as intelligent as the rest of the people who work here is no reason to leave her at home," he pushed.

I wondered if she would think that. I wasn't ashamed of Bella in any way. She was brilliant at whatever she put her mind to. She had proven her ability over and over again since we had met. Granted, her gifted mind had been focused in odd places, but I believed she was still gifted.

The contract she had written up for Rosalie was amazing. There wasn't a loophole to be exploited anywhere. It was ironclad and benefited Rosalie enough that she didn't think twice about signing it. We would take over her contract in three months. The studio she worked for was furious she was leaving them. The studio manger was particularly pissed, even with her promise to do the promo for the final film. When Bella did the research on Rosalie's career, their behavior didn't make sense. She had been a model and had only done two movies recently.

"She has a lot of sex appeal, but models who cross over into the movie industry very seldom do well. She does have a good fan base, but nothing extreme. She did confess she's had stalkers before, and the studio did more to publicize the issue than to fix it. Their lack of concern is why she hired Rico. He's not employed by the studio."

"Oh."

I had been hoping to get rid of any exterior threats of exposure, when I had bought Rosalie out.

"I know you're worried about a third party finding out about the Rosie bot, but Rico has a gag order in his contract. I believe he'd be safe to tell when he becomes suspicious."

"When? Why would he become suspicious?"

"Edward, he already is. Why on earth would Rosalie suddenly become so involved with you and your brother, after she'd come here furious with you. She told me he's already worried we have something over her. He's begged her and Rosie bot on several occasions to tell him if she was okay. Apparently, she was acting a little off. Of course, she wasn't. It was Rosie bot, not the real Rosalie, who was making him worry."

I got up and started pacing, taking a couple of puffs on my inhaler. I really didn't feel comfortable with another person knowing about the bots. I was having enough trouble keeping Aro at bay. I did not need the added stress.

My cell phone started ringing, and I looked at it confused. Emmett was upstairs. He wouldn't call me, and Bella was right in front of me. They were the only two people who would use the number. Bella saw my confusion and took the phone from my hand. "It says it's Aro. That's the name of your boss, isn't it? You should probably answer it."

I took a deep defeated breath and answered the phone. "Edward Cullen speaking, may I help you?" I asked.

The smile that lit Bella's face was encouraging. She took my hand in hers and led me to the couch.

"Have you spoken to your girlfriend about attending the company picnic?" Aro pushed again.

"As I said before, I usually don't attend," I reiterated. I had no desire to make myself look like an idiot in front of Bella by attempting to do some sort of athletic feat I would inevitably be pressured into participating in.

"But you have someone to bring with you this time. You must show off your amazing girlfriend, Edward. If she finds out you didn't take her to a company picnic, she'll think you're ashamed of her."

"Why would she find out about it?" I asked confused. It was an employee-only event, and as far as I knew, she didn't know anyone besides myself who worked there.

"It'll be in the newsletter going out next month. There'll be pictures on the front page. I was under the impression you two lived together," he pushed.

I looked over at Bella worried. I did not want to tell her I did not want to go because I sucked at sports, but I was worried if she found out about the event in some other way, she would be upset. "I need to think a little more about it, Sir."

"Alright, you must let me know if you're attending soon. We need a headcount, so we have the correct amount of food catered," he said. I guess that explained why he wanted to know if she was coming so badly. He had never taken such interested in me attending before, though.

Once I was off the phone, I knew Bella was waiting for me to tell her what the call was about. She didn't push me, but she was waiting silently for me to fill her in. I finally dropped my head in shame. "I'm not good at sports," I started.

She smirked at me, then kissed my lips. "I never thought you were. I love you for your other talents, Edward, and your brilliant mind. Though, you seem more steady on your feet than you were in high school."

I blushed, ashamed. She had obviously been oblivious to the jerks tripping me. I was not going to tell her otherwise, though.

"There are athletic events I don't want to participate in," I blurted out.

She looked at me confused. "I'd never try and push you into doing something you weren't comfortable with…unless it's in the bedroom," she giggled. There had been a lot of stuff I had struggled to breathe through in the bedroom. I had no qualms with doing them now, happy she had pushed me. I felt much more confident and adept in my bedroom skills now because of her. I couldn't help snickering back in agreement.

She kissed me and hugged me tightly. "I don't know what has you worried, but you need to know that I love you more than anything, and nothing will change that. Not even your lack of athletic ability. Now, tell me why you're bringing it up."

I let out a sigh. Aro was right, I would have to tell her. She was the one who brought in the mail every day. I did not want her to feel bad if she saw the newsletter with the picnic pictures on it. "There's a company picnic. They have games I wouldn't be any good at there. I usually don't go. Aro wants to know if I'm bringing you this year."

"Do you want to go?" she asked.

I shook my head no. She frowned a little, and I started to panic. "Not because I don't want to take you. I'd take you anywhere, Bella. I'm proud to have you as my girlfriend. I-"

"Settle down, Edward," she whispered soothingly. She ran her fingers through my hair to calm me. "We don't have to go if you don't want to."

"Are you sure, because if you want to go, I'd go for you."

She smiled and kissed me. "I know, baby, but I'd never make you do anything you wouldn't like."

I let out a relieved breath. "Thank you."

"Now that that's settled, it's time to discuss what we're having for dinner. I think you need some spaghetti," she said with sweet enthusiasm.

"I'd really like that."

The next day at work, Aro showed up at my office again. "So, are you and your girlfriend coming to the picnic?" he asked again.

"No, I discussed it with her, and we're in agreement. We won't be attending the picnic."

"In agreement?" he asked shocked.

I did not know why, though.

"You actually told her about the picnic, and she said she didn't want to attend?"

That was not exactly what had happened.

"Did you tell her you didn't want to go, and she conceded to not coming because she's a sweet girl?"

I guess that had happened in a way, but Bella understood why I did not want to attend.

"I'm sure she complied, because you wanted her to. Edward, women are sensitive creatures. I'm sure she thinks you're ashamed of her. She may not say it, but I'm sure she's thinking it. People tend to feel inferior around advanced minds. She'd be no different. To have you refuse to bring her to an event full of gifted coworkers will just solidify that deep down, dark insecurity she's harboring."

I started to worry he was right. Maybe Bella did agree not to go out of obligation. She had mentioned once before she had not broken up with me over the Bella bot incident, because she was kind of trapped in our relationship. Was she just being compliant?

"I see you have some thinking to do. I'll leave you to it," he said with a grin.

His visit had made it difficult to focus on my work. I really needed to focus on it. Royce had done something to the printer. He had altered it in some way. I was worried I would have to call someone from the manufacturer to repair it. It was setting me back in my work. I really wanted to finish my prosthetic work and get on to my reproduction project.

Of course, my earlier worry caused me to doubt Bella's interest in that project. It seemed like she had been happy about it, but now I was worried she had just said she was happy because she had felt obligated to.

With my mind so distracted, I knew it was best if I just left work early. Mistakes were made when people were distracted, and I could not have stupid mistakes setting me back any further than I already was.

When I came home, Bella was doing a back bend in the living room and flipped over with a big grin when she saw me. "You're home early," she said, executing the move with ease. She was very athletic. Maybe she did want to go to the picnic and participate in the games, but she was not telling me because she felt she could not.

"Hey, why the frown?" she fussed over me, pulling me into a hug. "Did you have a bad day?"

"Do you feel obligated to do what I want, because you still feel trapped?" I outright asked. I had to know the truth. It was best if I just ripped it off like a bandage.

She took a deep breath and gave me a disappointed look. I panicked and pulled out my inhaler. I was sure she was about to deliver some bad news.

"Absolutely not," she said with surprising force. If she had put actions behind her words, I would have been knocked over. "I don't feel trapped at all. I know I said I did at the beginning of our relationship, and in a way, I originally had felt a little stuck, but Edward, I love you," she said and brushed my bangs away from my face.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to ever feel like you can't tell me when you don't like something or if you're upset."

She laughed, but I wasn't sure why. "I know that. I thought it was obvious I wouldn't hold back if I was pissed. I nearly took your head off, when I found you with your head up Vicky's shirt that one time."

My face lit up. She was right. She had been angry with me. "That's right, you were mad," I said giddily.

She giggled. "I'm so lucky to have a boyfriend who's happy about me getting angry with him on occasion."

"I just want you to feel like an equal partner. Please let me know if you ever feel like you're being pressured into something. I don't ever want to do something that'd upset or hurt you."

She smiled at me sweetly and pulled me in for another kiss. "I love you so much," she whispered.

"I love you, too," and I did, so much.

It was later that evening, when I realized I had yet to speak to her about my next project with her. It had been earlier in our relationship, when she had agreed to it. I needed to make sure she really wanted me to proceed. That night as we cuddled, I tried to work up the courage to bring it up. It was after my second puff on my inhaler that she took it from me and straddled my hips.

"Just talk to me already, baby. Whatever it is, just get it out, and we'll deal with it together."

I took another deep breath and did as she said, blurting it out. "Do you want to have children with me?"

She smiled widely. "Yes, silly, I do."

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel like you have to, especially since I'll probably have to come up with an invasive way to do it," I worried.

"Did you change your mind about doing the reproductive project?" she asked, sounding worried.

"No, no, absolutely not. I want to do it! I want to have children with you. I was just worried that you-"

She cut me off with a kiss. "Don't worry, I'll happily have sweet adorable little Edwards. I can't wait."

"You can't?"

She smirked. "Of course not, silly. Have you met yourself? There should definitely be a few more of you in the world."

"Well, I wouldn't be cloning myself, though I suppose I could if that's what you wanted," I answered confused.

She rolled her eyes. "That's what I get for talking mushy with a scientific mind. I don't want you to clone yourself, silly. I want to have kids with you, a mix of us. Hopefully, they'll have your sweet and loving disposition."

"And your looks and athletic ability," I added.

"Athletic ability is overrated, and believe me when I say, you're very sexy, Edward. I'm lucky to have you, baby. I hope you know that."

Not as lucky as I was to have her. "I love you," I whispered and set about showing her how much I really did.


	17. Chapter 17

Dollybigmomma is my beautiful beta.

 **Home is Wherever You Are** **and** **Phantom Scars** **are both on sale for .99. Get them while you can.** **In Love with a Stranger** **will be available there as well in the next two days. I hope you check it out. Our penname is Rose Von Barnsley.**

 **Chapter 17: Fun-ding**

 **EDWARD**

It was the morning of the picnic. I didn't know why I had so much anxiety about it, since we weren't actually attending. An ominous feeling just seemed to hang over my head. Vicky and Bella were making breakfast in the kitchen, when someone rang the doorbell. Vicky went to answer it, because that was part of her programming, since our encounter with Renee.

We didn't think anything of it. Emmett and I had both ordered things online and were expecting packages. It wasn't uncommon for us to get Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts coming by to sell us cookies and popcorn for fundraisers. We were always a sure bet with Emmett's sweet tooth. I was pretty sure the little girls on our block always won for selling the most cookies. Emmett would frequently buy up to sixty boxes of different kinds, "stocking up" as he called it, until the next cookie selling season.

"Isabella, it's so nice to see you this fine morning," I heard my boss, Aro, say to Vicky.

I rushed into the front room, and so did Bella. "Vicky, can you watch the food for me, Sis?" Bella asked her.

"Sure," Vicky said, walking out of the room.

"There are two of you," Aro said, his eyes lighting up.

"She's my twin sister," Bella said flatly. "Was there something you needed? Shouldn't you be at the picnic?" she asked, getting right to the point. I had no idea why he was here. He'd never visited me before. He had to have looked up my address from my personnel file. Was that even legal?

"So you do know about the picnic. I was sure you'd want to attend when Edward told you about it. The chance to rub shoulders with investors is very important to scientists. It's often difficult to secure funding for complex, forward-thinking projects such as Edward's. He's a genius, but writing it on paper doesn't do it justice. I've often told him how much I enjoy his enthusiasm for his projects. I just know if he'd come to the picnic and personally pitch his ideas to some of the investors, he could really benefit from it. Grant money is so hard to come by these days, but I truly believe Edward is deserving of it."

"I didn't realize there'd be investors there. Did you know that, Edward?" Bella asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. The truth was I did know about them, but several of them were female. I couldn't talk to them, and I wasn't comfortable talking to strangers, so I couldn't pitch my ideas to them. Rubbing shoulders with investors was just something I couldn't do.

"I know Edward can be a little timid, but I thought with you at his side, he may have developed the confidence he needed. You really must come, Edward. I've spoken to Irina Clavic about your reproduction project, and she's very interested in it."

I gulped. She was a woman. A good looking, confident, intimidating woman, and they wanted me to talk to her about reproductive organs. That was a train wreck in the making.

Bella looked at me with determination in her eyes. "We should go, Edward."

I pulled out my inhaler and took a puff on it. She bit her lip, worried. She must have realized I'd be a mess if I tried to pitch my idea to Ms. Clavic.

"Excellent, I have a copy of the proposal you emailed me about the project. I was going to give it to her, but I think it'd be better coming from you," Aro pushed further.

"Thank you," Bella said, taking it from him. He nodded and rushed out the door.

I looked down at Bella with big worried eyes. She had to understand I couldn't do it. I couldn't talk to a strange woman about reproduction.

"I'll read this over for you. You'll need to explain it to me, so I can explain it to her a little better."

"You?" I asked shocked.

She gave me a soft smile. "I know it'd be too much for you to talk to her, so I'll do it. It's kind of our project, anyways, isn't it?" she asked.

I nodded yes eagerly.

"Alright, let's get to work."

We spent the next hour going over the outline of my project and the experiments I had planned. I basically planned to find a way to replace the uterus and/or fallopian tubes. Ovaries themselves were very complex organs, harboring eggs and producing hormones that would be very complicated to replicate, and ovulation was a whole other matter. I would have to find a way to secure existing eggs and replant them in the new ovaries. At this stage, I wasn't sure it was something I would want to try and tackle. I was going to focus on the basic replaceable organs.

"I think I got it," Bella said, after a solid hour and a half of studying my paper.

I was still a nervous wreck and needed to take the maximum dose of my medicine. Bella ended up driving, because I was too heavily medicated. I had my arm around her in a death grip, but I couldn't pull myself together enough to loosen my hold on her.

"Edward, Isabella, you finally made it. I was worried you'd changed your mind again. Come, come, I want to introduce you to Irina," Aro said, pulling Bella away from me. I hooked my arm in hers, so he couldn't run off with her completely.

"Irina, my dear, I'd like you to meet Isabella, and my star scientist, Edward Masen. I told you a bit about him. He's decided to tackle the infertility issue as soon as he's done with his limb replacement project. His limb replacement design will revolutionize the way people view prosthetics. I wouldn't be surprised if people chop off limbs just so they can get one of his."

I think we all cringed at Aro's words.

"Why on earth would someone do such a thing?" Irina asked. I was sure she didn't know the extent of my work.

"The…the…limbs are fully integrated," I said and puffed on my inhaler, "with real interlacing flesh and neuro-receptors. It's basically a bionic arms that looks completely normal," I tried to explain without passing out.

"It's the stuff science fiction and superheroes are made of, and Edward here is making it a reality," Aro bragged.

"Edward is perfecting the art of growing organs, skin to cover his advanced replacement arm is just one of them. His next project is to develop and grow uteruses and fallopian tubes for transplant in women who have blocked, damaged and scar tissue-ridden organs that prevent them from having children naturally," Bella explained.

Ms. Clavic's eyes lit up. "And you think this is possible? Doesn't the risk of a transplant not taking negate any chance of it working?"

"No…" I puffed on my inhaler again, "I take DNA tissue from the existing organ," I said and wheezed a little.

"Edward would take cultures and use them to grow identical organs that have not been traumatized. They'd be perfect DNA matches, so the subject's body wouldn't reject them," Bella said, coming to my rescue once again.

"And you believe this is really possible?" Irina asked skeptically.

I nodded yes. "I believe it'll be fairly simple, once I develop a standard for tissue and organ growth," I got out, before I had to take another puff. "My current project already deals with the theory of organ reproduction. I don't foresee extensive complications, other than finding participants. That'll be costly," I said with a frown.

Irina seemed to contemplate my words and then nodded at Aro. "I'd like to see his lab, before I commit to funding his project."

"Excellent, I'm sure Edward would be thrilled to show you around and share his work with you," Aro cheered.

I nodded in agreement. Full funding was rare, but not unheard of. Showing your investor around your lab was standard practice, so I had heard. I had never had a full funder before.

"I'll call and let you know when I'm available," Irina said with a nod before saying goodbye. I stood there stunned for a moment, not fully believing what had just happened.

Aro patted my shoulder and squeezed it. "Didn't I tell you, boy. I knew you could do it."

Now I just had to figure out a way to keep it together, when she came to visit me at work.

I watched Aro move around the picnic for a while after he had left Bella's and my side. He seemed to be matching up investors and scientists everywhere he went. I guess there really was a purpose behind the company picnics.

Bella stayed close to my side and seemed to be enjoying herself. There was catered barbeque, which was actually delicious. "I'm going to try and make this at home. You seem to be enjoying it immensely," Bella said with a smirk and used a napkin to wipe some sauce away from my chin. I blushed, embarrassed, but she kissed me, erasing that feeling.

Then out of nowhere, a football hit her directly in the face. It bounced off her and hit me as well. I was quick to grab a fresh napkin and hold it to her now bloody nose, trying not to panic. I looked around to see who the idiot was who'd hit her, thinking it was a geek like me with absolutely no talent, but I was shocked to see that was not the case.

A man built like a linebacker came running up. His expression looked repentant, but I didn't quite believe he hadn't hit us on purpose, probably aiming for me. Being pelted by jocks was nothing new to me, unfortunately. I just thought I'd moved past that phase in my life when I'd left school.

"I'm so very sorry, Ma'am. Here, let me help you," he said, offering her a cloth handkerchief. Who carried those anymore? The amount of bacteria they collected was disgusting. He held it to Bella's nose before I could stop him.

"You really shouldn't use cloth handkerchiefs," I said, when I finally got the courage to speak. I offered Bella another handful of napkins, and she passed the disgusting blood-covered cloth back to the idiot.

"I'm sorry, I ruined your hanky," Bella said too kindly. The jerk had ruined her nose, forget his hanky. "Peroxide should clean it up for you. Is it a keepsake?" she asked, and I realized she was looking at the embroidered letters on it.

"Yes and no, my uncle gives me a box of these every year for Christmas. He insists they're classy and the mark of a true gentleman," he said in a way that sounded like flirting. I definitely didn't like that.

"The amount of bacteria they carry will more likely do you harm than good. I suggest not using them," I cut in.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said and winked at Bella. Yes, he definitely was flirting with Bella.

She leaned more into my side for support, and I wrapped my arms around her, claiming her like a caveman, but she didn't seem to mind.

"Let's get you home, we already did what we came for," I suggested.

She nodded, not speaking through the wad of tissues she held against her nose. I hoped she stopped bleeding soon. I hated to see her in pain.

I got her some ice as soon as we got home and examined her nose more closely. "It's not broke," I said, when I was done with my assessment.

"I'm sorry we had to leave," she said with a pout.

"Its fine, I was ready to go," I reassured her. We had done what we had planned to do before we left. There really was no reason to stay after we had spoken to Ms. Clavic.

I got Bella some medicine to relieve the pain. I hoped it worked for her. In my experience, it usually didn't. I tucked her in and insisted she take it easy.

"I'll cook," I said, as I kissed her forehead, ready to head to the kitchen.

She looked at me and shook her head no.

"Let me rephrase that. I'll tell Vicky what to cook," I amended.

"That's better. Someday I'll teach you to cook, but not today," she promised.

"I look forward to it," and I did. I loved learning new things, but learning new things with Bella was my new favorite pastime. I couldn't wait to get started on our next lesson.


	18. Chapter 18

**Beta'd by Dollybigmomma.**

 **Sorry for the delay, I was out of town, then sick, and now we're trying to get our house ready to sell. I have the next chapter kicking around in my head already, though, and will hopefully update again within the week.**

 **Chapter 18: Hitting it Off**

Aro had been acting weird lately. He was giddy one day and irritated the next. He seemed to be lingering around me more and asking a lot of questions about Bella and her twin. I had never been good at lying, and I think he could tell I was hiding something.

What really worried me was when he randomly showed up at the house again, insisting I needed to give him a hard copy of the proposal I had emailed him.

"I can't get into my work email from home. It's not secure," I lied. Emmett actually had our internet system locked up tighter than the Federal Reserve. He explained to me once that if someone tried to hack our system, that each keystroke would release a new worm or bug. It would also start a trace on them that would be complete in less than two minutes. He was all about high speed everything. In the end, their computer would be erased completely and crash. I think I might have mentioned before that I was glad he was on my side.

"Right, right, of course. It's just very important that I go over the hard facts of it, when it comes time to promote it and look for more grant money. I'll need a copy on my desk first thing in the morning," he insisted.

"Of course, whatever you need." If it wasn't for the promise of funding for the reproduction research, I would be looking for a new job. Aro's odd behavior was making me nervous.

"Edward, can you help me with something?" Bella called to me. She didn't know Aro was here. She probably thought it had been another package, when she had heard the doorbell. She walked into the room, holding a bracelet on her wrist. "I can't seem to hook this," she said, not looking up.

I rushed over to her and hooked her clasp for her.

"Bella, it's very nice to see you again, or are you Vicky?" Aro asked with a gleam in his eye.

"No, I'm Bella. It's nice to see you, too, Mr. Volturi. I hope you're not overworking my Edward too much. He has the wandering mind of an inventor as it is."

"No, I don't think we're overworking him. On the contrary, he tends to keep me on my toes. How is your sister, Vicky?" he asked, changing the subject.

"She's doing good. She's around here somewhere," Bella said, looking around, but not finding Vicky. She was in my basement recharging. We both knew that. I didn't know why she was acting like she didn't.

"I have a request to make. It's rather unorthodox, but I hope you'll consider it all the same. My nephew, Brody, had a run in with you, or should I say, you with his football. He's quite infatuated with you, Bella. I explained to him that you were taken, but then I remembered your sister. Would you three consider going on a double date with my nephew?" Aro asked, sounding way too hopeful. I didn't like it one bit.

"I don't feel comfortable making dates for my sister. We're two very different people with different tastes. She doesn't like to be set up," Bella deflected skillfully.

"Perhaps he could maybe come by sometime for a visit?" Aro pushed.

We could tell Bella was about to say no again, when Aro tried one more time. "He could maybe bring by some nice wine or whatever it is you kids drink these days. Just to chat. He'd keep it short. Just let him have a shot with Vicky. He could use a positive influence in his life, and I believe she could be it, just like Bella was for you, Edward," he begged.

"As I said before, Vicky and I are complete opposites. I don't know if she's the kind of girl you want your nephew hanging out with, if you're looking for a positive influence. He can come over for some coffee and get it straight from her, but I doubt they'd hit it off. You have to have him promise not to call the cops on her," Bella said innocently.

Aro's eyes widened. "The cops? You mean the police? Why on earth would he call the police?" he asked baffled.

"She has a violent streak and was pissed when I came home with a bloody nose. He can come over, but it'd be at his own risk," Bella threatened.

I thought for sure Aro would back down, but he smiled instead. I didn't see this ending well. "I'll let him know. Thank you, Bella. Have a nice evening," he said, dismissing himself.

"What did you do? You can't invite people over to date Vicky! She's not supposed to even exist!" I snapped.

She waved me off. "I'll be playing Vicky for the evening. I have a feeling he's after more than just a date. How much do you want to bet I'll end up bleeding, with one of his cloth hankies pressed against me by the end of the night?"

"If you think he's after you, we can't have him over here! I won't let him hurt you!" I cried.

"It'll be fine. I'll pose as Vicky, and he'll get another blood sample from me, see that I'm just a normal girl, and he'll still have no proof anything odd happened in the parking lot."

Bella was right on the money, when it came to coffee with Aro's nephew, Brody. He was very pleasant and brought cookies. Bella played Vicky in the most outrageous way. She dressed in all black and painted her nails black, with thick dark eye makeup. She ate the cookies by the handful and chewed with her mouth open. When she spoke to Brody, she sprayed crumbs on him. Anytime he tried to talk to her, she glared at him like she wanted to kill him.

When he broke his empty cookie plate and "accidentally" cut Bella with it, I think we all worried she was going to stab him with the pieces of it. He, as predicted, pulled out his germ-filled hanky and pressed it to her cut. Bella gave him a bloody nose in return.

I didn't think Brody would be helping his uncle spy on us again anytime soon. In her defense, Bella had warned Aro that Brody's date would be violent. He had come for coffee at his own risk.

Bella let me fuss over her hand as soon as he was gone. I wanted to put a stitch in it, but she said it was fine. I finally talked her into some surgical glue. That bastard had cut her good. I was glad she was able to punch him before he left.

The next day, Aro cornered me in my lab. "Brody said he didn't hit it off with Vicky last night," he tested.

"Oh, she hit him, but I have to admit, he kind of deserved it. He cut her hand pretty badly."

"Her hand was cut badly?" Aro asked curiously.

I didn't like his interest in that detail. "Yes, why do you ask?"

"Edward, can you tell Vicky and Bella apart?"

"Yeah," I said with a shrug. I'd only mixed them up a couple of times.

"You don't sound so sure of yourself," he gauged. "Have they ever switched places on you?"

"Not purposefully. I came home excited one day and accidentally kissed Vicky."

"I'll bet that didn't go over well."

"No, I could tell it wasn't Bella right away and stopped. Bella was in the doorway and just laughed it off. She said she was glad I could tell them a part where it counts."

"But they _have_ switched on you before?"

"Not purposefully. What's this about?" I was worried our trick hadn't worked.

"Edward, have you ever met Bella and Vicky's parents?"

"I've met their mother," I supplied, worried where this was going.

"Was there any way to verify that she was their biological mother?"

"Why would I even want to do that?" I snapped.

"Well, I was under the impression you were going to do the reproductive work for Bella. Wouldn't you need some type of fertility history on her mother?" he suggested.

I rubbed my face, trying to get around the question. The truth was the best way to go. "Her fertility issues are not hereditary."

"Not hereditary? Surely you know better than to dismiss such pertinent information, Edward."

"She was beaten by her ex-husband while she was pregnant, causing her to lose a baby. She had viable organs before, they're just damaged," I snapped, a little irritated. Just thinking about my girl being hurt was upsetting.

"What does her mother do for a living?" he pried.

"She's a lawyer. I don't feel comfortable discussing my girlfriend's life when she's not around," I said, trying to get off of the topic.

"There are no scientists in the family?"

"No, not that I know of." I had no clue what her father did.

I heard him mumble, "We'll have to look into that," as he left my lab. I had to get home and talk to Bella and Emmett right away. Vicky needed to have legitimate records, if we were going to keep her hidden from Aro. Things were quickly getting out of hand. Maybe it was time I shut down and disassembled Vicky. We could say she moved away. We had to do something to get Aro off our tail and fast.

As soon as he was out the door, I saved my work, grabbed my things and secured my lab. I had to get to Emmett before Aro could look for Bella's father.

Emmett's building wasn't far from mine. Of course, getting in to see him was more challenging.

I pulled up to the gate and told the guard I was Edward Cullen and would like to see my brother, Emmett Cullen, on an urgent matter. They called up to his office, and then he called me, and I verified I was the one at the gate. He asked me a ridiculous security question, but I answered it correctly.

"How awesome is your little brother?" he asked.

"So awesome, that if I could be him, I'd do it eleven times over. I love you more than everyone but mom," I answered begrudgingly.

"See you in a bit, Bro," he giggled, before he hung up.

Then I was told to park my car in the far lot, and a security guy gave me a lift in a golf cart to the door, where I was met by Emmett. This was why we never visited each other at work.

Instead of going inside the building, he pulled me around to some benches. "What are you doing here?" he asked, looking around nervously.

"Aro didn't believe the switch we pulled on him. He's sure Bella traded places with Vicky. Now he wants to look into her parents. He thinks one of them must've been a scientist, Emmett," I nearly cried.

"Chill out, man, it's going to be fine. When I went over Bella and Vicky's records, I made sure they were airtight. Short of him going down and asking her mother outright if she had twins, he won't find anything."

"What about her father? We don't know anything about her dad. What if he was a scientist?" I panicked.

Emmett frowned and leaned in closer and shook his head. "He's not a problem. From what I found when I did a background check on her…"

"You did a background check on Bella?" I snapped.

"I work with highly classified government information, and suddenly, this hot chick wants to move in with me? That has spy written all over it. Of course I did a background check on her to see who her parents were. As I was saying, her dad isn't an issue. Records show he died when she was three months old of a drug overdose. He used to play in a band, but he wasn't any good, so he medicated to hide from his failures. I can't imagine dating Renee helped any. She's a piece of work."

I let his words settle down over me. Her father was dead. We were safe. Aro wasn't going to find anything but a drugged-out musician in Bella's past. I was thankful for that. I felt bad for Bella, though. I knew how it felt to not have a dad around. At least I had a mother who was loving and kind. She didn't even have that.

I really needed to call my mom and let her know I loved her.


	19. Chapter 19

**Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma**

 **I'm almost finished with the In My Sleep epilogue. I'll get it up either today or tomorrow.**

 **Chapter 19: Mother-to-Be Troubles**

After our last discussion, Aro didn't bother me for the rest of the week. I didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. I hoped he had found whatever information Emmett had planted on Vicky and had left it at that.

Things had started getting weird between the real Rosalie and Emmett. She had done a few interview circuits and had come home to be looked after by him as promised. Emmett had asked for Bella's help the first couple of times, but the last few, Bella came out of the room a lot sooner.

I had also noticed the Rosie bot hadn't been out, either. I had checked on her a couple of times, and she had been in the closet on her charging station. I wasn't sure what was going on with her and Emmett, but I think he took her words to heart, or should I say Bella's words to heart, when she had told him she was just there to teach him how to treat a real woman.

I decided to keep my nose out of their relationship and just focus on my work. Aro wasn't snooping around me or Bella anymore, so I was sure we were in the clear. I finally gave up on trying to fix my 3D printer and called the manufacturer. They had me box it up and send it back to them to work on. In the meantime, I decided to outline the experiment for the reproductive project.

I realized if I was really going to do this with Bella, the ultimate test would be to get her pregnant. That was exciting and made it difficult to concentrate. We'd definitely have to have intercourse in various positions to make sure her transplanted organ was functioning and well grafted. I listed several different positions and angles, taking into account the shift and impact I'd have on her. We'd have to perform several experiments…all in the name of science, of course.

My lab phone rang, and I was quick to answer it. "Dr. Edward Cullen, may I help you?"

"Yes, Dr. Cullen, this is Trevon with 3D Marvels. I've been looking over your printer and have found it's completely gummed up with foreign matter. Could you give me an idea of what it is, so I can clean it out?"

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what Royce was doing with it. Our labs and projects are kept secret, even from the other scientists here. We all work independently, so I honestly have no idea what he was doing with it before he was fired."

Trevon let out a deep sigh. "It says here it's urgent you get the printer back as well?"

"Yes, I've completed what I need to and am ready to move on to the printing phase of my experiment. I also have the outline for my next one set up. I'm sure in the next day or two, I'd be ready to get printing on that one if given the opportunity. I can't sit around idly. Running my lab is very costly. I need to be productive," I explained.

"Since I'm not sure what's in this printer, I'm going to send you out a new one. We'll give you the same model in exchange, or you may pay a little more and upgrade to a larger base."

Considering I was looking into limbs, I decided getting a larger model would be best. As it was, I could only print the arm if it was bent and the wrist tilted inward, so it would fit on the printer bed. Doing a leg would have been impossible, but if I upgraded…

"Yes, I'd like a larger model. Is there one you could fit a human leg on?" I asked.

The guy clacked around on his keys a moment and then said there was, but it was thirty thousand dollars more. I pulled out my emergency bank card and put the charge on it. "I'd like the receipt, please." I figured I could turn it in, and if it was rejected, I could probably claim it on my taxes somehow, since it was a business-related expense. I'd figure it out later, but right now, I had to have a big printer.

"The receipt will be in the package. We'll send a couple of techs out to help set it up. Is that alright?" he asked cautiously.

"They'll have to sign a nondisclosure agreement, but I'd appreciate the help. I understand the calibration can be tricky."

"Yes, but this new model you ordered has a self-calibrating system programed in. You should have minimal problems with it."

"That's wonderful."

I was excited to finally be moving forward on this project. The faster I finished it, the faster I could get Bella pregnant. For some reason, that sounded like something awesome, and I really wanted to do it.

I decided to bring home my notes for Bella to look over and get her input on the reproductive organ project. I was nervous about presenting it to her. If everything went as planned, by this time next year, she'd be pregnant with my baby. I needed to know if she really wanted to do this with me.

I hugged my notebook to me tightly, as I quietly entered the house, trying to keep myself together and breathing normally.

Bella must have heard the front door close, because she called out to me, "Edward, honey, is that you?"

"Yes," I answered back, trying to sound fine.

She rushed in and kissed me hello. "Hey, baby, we have some cookies in the oven. Do you want some?" she asked.

I nodded yes eagerly. I let her lead me into the kitchen, where she gave me a plate of cookies and a glass of milk.

I was three cookies in, when she caused me to choke, noticing my notebook. "Is that your work notebook? I think it's so funny that you use old-fashioned paper and pen instead of a tablet. I know in some ways it's more secure, but it's just strange, considering the fields you and your brother are in."

She thumped my back a little, and I nodded yes, letting her know it was my work notebook. The truth was, I didn't want anyone to see what I wanted to do with Bella, so I would never write it down electronically until absolutely necessary. Then I'd make sure all my notes on her were anonymous, or subject number one, as she'd be addressed.

"Is Aro bugging you still? Is that why you're bringing work home?" she asked.

I shook my head no, trying to get up the courage to tell her we needed to have copious amounts of sex, and she was going to get pregnant with my baby. I bit my lip and then started to wheeze. She looked at me surprised. It had been a while since she had last caused my breathing to go crazy.

She climbed into my lap and put my inhaler in my mouth. "Do you think Aro is still up to something? Is that why you're still worried?" she asked.

I shook my head no, and my eyes darted to the notebook. I wasn't sure how to explain the actual importance of its contents. Though it might have seemed a bit depraved, we really did need to have good thorough sex after her transplant.

She waited patiently for me to pull myself together. I finally decided the best way to discuss it with her would be to just give her the notes I had taken. There was a short explanation of the position's testing intent next to each experiment's outline. I hoped she'd see the importance of them and not think I was a pervert. I might have been, but there was a legitimate reason for my perversion this time.

I passed the notebook to her, and she opened it with a furrowed brow. I made sure she was on the right page, when she started going over my project outline.

She took in a few deep breaths, and I knew she was freaking out a little. I just wasn't sure what aspect of the whole project was scaring her.

"When…when do you start work on this?" she nearly whispered.

"My new printer will be here in the next day or two. Once I complete my arm cover, I'll be free to start work on you."

"Me?" she squeaked.

"Do you want me to fix you?" I asked worried. Maybe this was too much too soon.

"Yeah, I do, but…I'm not sure I'm ready for a baby yet. We aren't even married." She slipped off my lap and continued her rant while pacing. "Do you even want to get married? If we did, would we move? I wouldn't want to raise a family in a house I was sharing with my brother-in-law. No offense to Emmett, but I'd want a quiet place of our own to raise our baby. It just seems like married people should have their own place, and I don't know if I could do this whole baby thing without being married. I haven't even met your mother!" she nearly shouted at the end.

I looked at her wide-eyed. I'd never seen Bella freak out, but I was pretty sure she was. I'd guess turnabout was fair play. She was right about a lot of things. I'd like to be married before we had a baby, and it would be weird to be living with other people once we were married. As for meeting my mother, that'd be interesting. I really didn't know how my mother would take it. I was sure she'd have a cow, if she found out my girlfriend was living with us, and I was having lots of sex with her, LOTS OF SEX. That was against her moral beliefs, and she'd be very disappointed in me. I didn't want her to judge Bella harshly, either.

"Let's get engaged," I finally blurted out. My mother would be a lot more accepting, if she knew Bella was a permanent fixture in my life.

Bella looked at me like she was confused. I wondered if I hadn't said the words I thought I had.

"We can get married…before…before…the…the…baby part," I said nervously, wondering if I was messing this all up and scaring her away. Maybe she freaked out, because she'd changed her mind and didn't want to have a family with me anymore.

Her brow furrowed, and I was worried I really was messing it all up, and she was going to get mad. I took another puff on my inhaler, waiting for her input.

"No," she just flat out said after a good five minutes of silence. Well, silence on her part and heavy breathing and wheezing on mine.

"No?" I asked. Which part was she saying no to?

"You don't get to ask me to marry you like that. You're going to plan it all out and make it special and get me a ring. I'm a size six. I'm not letting you propose to me like this. You're going to do it right," she insisted.

I smiled through my wheezing chest pain. She'd said no, but only for now. She wanted me to propose to her properly, and she deserved having me do it right. I nodded yes at her, so she knew I'd work on it. Thank heavens she'd given me her ring size, that'd simplify things a bit. At least that was what I thought, until I saw the insane number and vastly differing styles of rings that were available.

I needed help. More specifically, I needed help from a woman. It was time I called my mom and told her all about Bella. Well, not everything, just the important parts, like how I intended to marry and impregnate her. She'd probably be happy about it. Most mothers wanted grandkids. I could only assume my mother would as well. She had been very maternal and nurturing, so it'd make sense for her to be instinctively happy about a new addition to the family.

That was what I kept telling myself, as I settled myself in a quiet corner of the lab and prepared to call my mother. I took a deep breath and hit the call button.

"Edward, dear, is everything alright?" she asked immediately.

"Yeah," my voice cracked, so I tried again. "Yeah, everything's fine, Mom. I did need your help with something, though."

"What do you need help with, dear? Surely the internet you and Emmett are always stuck on would have more information than any wisdom I may have," she said a little sharply.

She had no idea how lacking the internet actually was, especially when it came to information on how to be a good boyfriend and how to deal with important situations, like showering with your girlfriend. I really should write a blog or something on what I'd learned, because I was sure I was not the only geek out there who was completely lost. "You'd be surprised how much is not actually on the internet, Mom. What I need help with is kind of important, too. I don't want to mess it up."

"Mess what up, dear? The remedy to just about every stain known to man is on the web. I know, I've used it now and again myself. Is your housekeeper subpar?"

"No, no, Bella's great, no stains or anything, and there's food, so we're good," I quickly backpedaled, before my mother could think ill of Bella in any way.

"Then what do you need, dear? Is she dropping the ball or…"

I cut her off. "I want to marry her!" I shouted into the phone.

My mother was quiet for a moment and then asked, "What did you say? I don't think I heard you right."

"I want to marry her. Bella's my girlfriend, and I want to marry her. We're going to have babies, babies are good, you'd like grandkids, right?" I asked, trying to point out something positive for my mother.

She was quiet again, and I was getting worried. She finally spoke up again. "Is she pregnant, Edward?"

I shook my head no, then answered, "NO! No, not yet. I want to marry her. We'll get married, and then I'll get her pregnant."

She let out a breath. "I need to meet this woman," she said a bit sharply. I didn't like the tone of voice she had. It sounded like I was in trouble, or Bella was, or maybe we both were, but I didn't like it.

"I love her, Mom. I need you to be nice to her. She's had a rough time, and her mother is very cruel. I don't want you to hurt her, Mom. I love her. I need…I need…" I wasn't sure what I needed, I just needed my mother not to mess things up with Bella.

"Edward, how long have you been dating?" she asked.

"Like, seeing each other or officially?" I asked.

"Both," she said curtly.

"A while?" How long was long enough for my mother to accept Bella?

"Edward," she growled.

"She's our housekeeper. I knew her from high school and ran into her again, and then things just…then she agreed to be my girlfriend a little while after, and we've been dating for months," I squeaked at the end.

"Months? You've been dating a girl for MONTHS and never bothered to tell me? What are you hiding from me, Edward?"

A lot, but nothing, really. It was best if I just said it and got it out of the way. "She lives with me," I nearly whispered.

I expected my mother to go off on a rant or something, but all she said was, "I see. Very well, I'd like to meet this girl. Is she staying in my room?" I could hear a hopeful twine in her voice. If she was coming home, it'd be best if I told her about Rose as well. "No, Rosalie is staying in your room right now."

"Rosalie?" she huffed. "And just who is Rosalie?"

Now that was a hard one to explain. "She's…a…I don't know. You'll have to ask Emmett that."

"Please, Lord Almighty," I heard her start to pray. I knew she wouldn't like the girls living with us.

"So, can you help me pick out an engagement ring?" I asked hopefully.

She let out a huff. "Let me meet the girl first, then we'll discuss rings, Edward, but not before."

That didn't sound good. If she didn't approve of Bella, she might not help me pick a ring. I had no way to change things, though. My mother could be stubborn when she wanted to. "Okay," I said in defeat. "I should go. I'm sure she'll have dinner ready soon. Love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, dear. Be careful, and take care of yourself, alright? Girls are not always what they seem. I love you, sweetie. I just want what's best for you. I'll see you soon."

I really hoped she believed Bella was what was best for me, because I sure believed she was, and nothing was going to change that. Not even my mother.


	20. Chapter 20

**In My Sleep** **was nominated for Top Ten Fics of July on Twifanfictionrecs dot com. They have a great library of completed fic. You should check them out and vote.**

 **Dollybigmomma is my beautiful beta.**

 **Chapter 20: That Thing You Do**

I hadn't been off the phone with my mother for more than an hour, when it pinged with the email containing her flight information. She'd be here tomorrow evening. That wasn't a good sign. She obviously felt it was urgent to get here immediately. When she'd left for Aunt Margaret's, she'd bought her ticket six weeks in advance to get a better deal. Emmett and I took care of our mother, so there was no need for her to wait that long, but she refused to pay six-hundred more dollars to leave sooner. That obviously wasn't the case now, and I needed to warn Emmett. I had inadvertently outed his almost-relationship with Rosie/Rosalie to our mother, too.

After dinner, the girls were distracted. Rosalie had seen a new dessert in her travels and wanted to see if Bella and Vicky could make it. I pulled Emmett away, because he was lingering around the women, trying to figure out if he'd be getting another treat tonight. His sweet tooth was positively shameful.

"Emmett, come to my lab," I whispered in his direction.

"Hold on," he said in a normal voice, not catching on that discretion was paramount at this point.

I kicked his shin, and he turned to yell at me, but I yanked on his arm and hissed, "Now, it can't wait."

He followed, pouting pitifully, but thankfully, he didn't retaliate. He realized something was up when I locked the door.

"What's going on?" he asked, finally sounding worried.

"Mom's coming home."

"Mom's coming…Why? Edward, she's not going to like the girls living with us. We're not married to them."

"I know, I called her to ask her to help me pick out an engagement ring for Bella, and she wasn't happy."

"Why not? You'd think she'd throw a huge party to celebrate her boy pulling the wool over some hot chick's eyes."

"Emmett," I growled.

"Doesn't she want grandkids? You'd think she'd be happy that we're dating people."

"I know, but she didn't sound happy. Her flight gets in tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night! How long have you known about this?" he squealed.

"I just got the email with the flight information. Emmett, I don't want her to be mean to Bella. She's got it bad enough with her own mom, I want ours to be nice to her," I whined a little.

"Have you tried telling mom that?" he asked.

"I asked her to be nice, it didn't sound like she was listening, though."

"Maybe we can send the girls to a spa retreat. Do you know how long mom's staying?"

I checked my email and paled a little. "It's a one-way ticket, Em. We're in trouble. Where's she going to stay? Would Rosalie consider moving into your room with you?"

He shook his head no, frowning. We both started pacing, trying to figure out a way to keep our mother from scaring off our girls.

"Okay, so here's the plan. We're going to send Rosalie and Bella off on a spa retreat, and then we'll have their bots play them, but kiss mom's butt and have them fawn over us and stuff. That way, mom will see they're great girls, and if she says anything mean or offensive, the bots won't care."

"We don't know how long she's staying!" I reiterated.

"We just have to convince her we're fine, so she'll leave before they get back," Emmett explained.

I didn't think his plan would work, but we had to try it.

We found a spa and made appointments for Bella and Rosalie. They would leave first thing in the morning and be gone for a week.

We rushed upstairs to tell them the good news about their spontaneous vacation at the spa.

"Bella, sweetheart, I wanted to thank you for being with me, so I bought you a trip to a spa to relax. Emmett is sending Rosalie with you, so you won't be lonely. Doesn't that sound fun…a girl's trip…to the spa?" I felt like I was drowning. She just kept looking at me like I was crazy.

"Which spa is it? What's security like around it?" Rosalie asked.

"Tight, it's Van Swan de Gras," Emmett answered. Apparently, Rosalie had mentioned going to that place before, so he was hoping she'd want to go to it again.

Rosalie hummed and then hooked her arm through Bella's and walked out of the room. Neither of them answered us or responded the way we'd thought they would. That couldn't be good. I wished someone would make a girlfriend manual already, then I'd know how to handle this mess.

Bella and Rosalie stayed up late, packing for their time away. They were much quieter than usual as well. I asked Emmett if he knew why, and he shrugged his shoulders. He was in the dark, too.

We hired a limo to come and pick up Bella and Rosalie, so they could start off their spa week in style. Bella gave me a light kiss goodbye and insisted Vicky help her take the luggage out to the car. Apparently, it was very heavy. Vicky did have a much higher weight-bearing capacity than I did.

Vicky came back in the house and stood before me, as if waiting for me to give her instructions. "Are you fully charged?" I asked her.

"Yes, I only left my docking station an hour ago."

"Good, I need your help with something, Vicky. My mother is coming to stay with us this evening, and I need the room Rosalie sleeps in to be cleaned and readied for her. Can you do that for me?" I asked.

"Yes," she answered and walked out, getting right to work. With the girls gone, I was sure I'd be able to convince my mother marrying Bella was a wonderful thing.

I gave Vicky the recipe for my mother's fried chicken and asked her to make it tonight. My mother would be arriving just in time for dinner.

Right before Emmett and I left to get her from the airport, I told Vicky the plan. "Vicky , for the next week, while my mom is here, I'm going to call you Bella. You're going to pretend to be her. My mother is probably not going to be very nice, and I didn't want her to hurt Bella, so I sent her away. I'm hoping she warms up to you before Bella's return. Just remember to answer when I call you Bella, alright?" I asked her.

She nodded yes. Her expression was odd, though.

"Edward, you said you don't want Bella to be hurt, but sending her away and lying to your mother sounds like something that would upset her when she finds out," Vicky answered smartly.

"That's why it's very important for you not to say anything to Bella if she asks about what happened while she was gone."

"I have anti-deception protocol in place, Edward. I can't lie to Bella. She's my Alpha programmer. You changed that when you gave me to her."

"Well, just let me change it. It'll only take a moment."

"I don't believe she'd approve of that. I can't let you change my programming without her consent. Would you like me to call her and ask if it's okay for you to reprogram me to be deceptive and lie to her?"

"NO! No, Vicky , please, you have to understand, I can't lose Bella. I don't know what's wrong with my mother. She went nuts on the phone, when I asked her to help me pick out a ring for Bella. I just can't lose her. I love her, Vicky , but I love my mom, too."

"If you could only please one of them, who would it be?" Vicky asked out of the blue.

"Bella," I answered without hesitation. "She'll always come first, but I love my mom, too. I don't want her to treat Bella badly. She doesn't deserve it, and I'd hate for my mom to do or say anything to upset her. I won't let her hurt Bella, she's been through enough with her own mom. I just need you to try and soften up my mother's impression of Bella. I'm sure she'll love her once they've gotten to know each other, but I don't want my mother to do anything to hurt or upset Bella beforehand. I don't want to have to kick my mother out."

"So you kicked Bella out while your mother visits," Vicky simplified.

"No, my mom can be firm, and I don't want her trying to run Bella off when I have my back turned. Vicky , I love Bella more than anything in the world. I don't want my mother to jeopardize the best thing that's ever happened to me. I need to settle my mother down or get rid of her without Bella getting hurt."

"What do you want me to do?"

"If my mother says something offensive to you, please don't respond. Maybe act like you didn't hear her and then come tell me about it. I'll set her straight. I need to get my mother put in her place before Bella comes back. I don't want her to hear anything offensive coming from my mother, understand? Bella doesn't deserve it. I just need to get a handle on it, before Bella returns. You understand, don't you, Vicky ? Can you see why this would be important to keep from Bella, just for now? I'm only trying to protect her. Can you please not tell her?" I begged.

She tilted her head to the side and nodded in agreement with an apprehensive expression on her face. She must have picked it up from Bella. I didn't have time to think on it now. We had to get going, so we wouldn't be late.

Traffic was crazy, and it was difficult to find a parking spot. We rushed inside to the luggage claim area, just in time to see my mother pull the third suitcase from the carousel.

"Do you think two are filled with presents?" Emmett asked hopefully.

"I don't think they are," I frowned.

"How long do you think she plans to stay?" Emmett asked.

"I don't know, and I'm afraid to ask."

My mother found us in the crowd and hugged us both warmly. I didn't realize how much I'd missed her until she hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek. We took her suitcases and headed for the car.

"So, where's this _girl_?" my mother nearly sneered.

"Bella's at home making dinner. I thought you'd understand why she stayed home. Part of her job description is cooking our meals. You wouldn't want our dinner to be late, would you?" I asked, hoping my girl's commitment to a feeding schedule would settle my mother down. We were well taken care of, and I hoped we could prove it in less than a week and get her out of the house before the girls came back.

My mother was quiet on the car ride home, making Emmett and I stew. When we pulled up to the house, Emmett got her door, and I helped get her luggage. "Where will I be staying?" she asked before we entered the house.

"Your old room has been tidied up for you and is ready."

"Where's Emmett's girl staying?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at Emmett.

"Out of town, she's out of town, and…and then will probably go back to her place," Emmett stumbled through his answer.

"Her place?" my mother asked, surprised.

"Yeah, Rosalie has her own place, she just likes to hide out here," he answered too quickly.

"Hide out? What on earth is she hiding from?" my mother snapped.

"Paparazzi," Emmett answered nervously.

"Paparazzi? What's her name again?"

"Rosalie Hale?" Emmett said with a wince, like my mother would strike him for lying. I didn't blame him. I wouldn't have believed him, either, if I hadn't been involved in the whole meeting myself.

My mother covered her face, shaking her head like she was upset, and then stormed up to the house.

"That went better than I expected," Emmett said, sounding relieved.

I looked at him like he was nuts and ran after my mother, who was already through the front door. I stumbled over her suitcases in my haste, crashing into the living room end table. Vicky was quick to my side.

"Oh, my goodness, Edward, are you alright?" she asked, playing the perfect concerned girlfriend. I almost believed it was Bella.

When my mom's eyes settled on Vicky , she grimaced. "Really, Edward," my mother sighed heavily, shaking her head again, as if in disappointment. I didn't understand why she was upset with me. She had never made me feel bad for being clumsy or un-athletic before. "I'll be in my room, have your thing bring the luggage to me," she snapped, with a nod in Vicky's direction.

Vicky had helped me up, completely ignoring my mother calling her a thing. She had no idea how close to the truth she was, but this was supposed to be Bella, my girlfriend. She couldn't talk to her like that.

"Bella's my girlfriend, Mom, not a thing. I expect you to treat her kindly," I said firmly, trying my best not to shake. I'd never had to stand up to my mother before, but I would for Bella.

My mother scoffed, before she turned away, not answering me. I let out a frustrated sigh. "Do you see why I sent her away now?" I whispered to Vicky .

Vicky frowned, but nodded in agreement.

"Do worry, I'll fix this before she meets Bella. I won't let my mother treat her this way," I promised. I had an uphill battle ahead of me, but I knew it would be worth it. Bella would always be worth it.


	21. Chapter 21

**Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma**

 ** _In My Sleep_ has been nominated for top ten fic of July over at Twifanfictionrecs dot com. Check out their awesome library of completed fics and vote.**

 **Chapter 21: Doppelganger Dance**

There was no way I was going to have Vicky take my mom's luggage into her room. Besides, Vicky was posing as Bella, and Bella wouldn't have been able to heft the mess my mother had packed. I was worried she was moving back in for good.

"Emmett, help me with mom's bags," I ordered.

"Why can't Vicky take them? They'd be nothing to her," he whined.

"Because she's Bella," I reminded him.

He grabbed the lightest bag, leaving the other two for me. We knocked lightly on the closed door and waited for my mother to respond. Her room had always been her safe haven. We weren't ever allowed to enter unless invited.

"Come in," she called, and we opened the door. Her back was to us. She was remaking the bed. "Your work is sub-par. You'd think he'd have known how to make a bed, so you could do it right," she griped.

"It looked fine before, Mom. I checked the room to make sure everything was perfect, before we went to get you. There was nothing wrong with the way she made the bed," I defended.

"The corners weren't tight enough," she said, narrowing her eyes at me. "Is dinner ready?"

"Yes, the table is set. Mom, you need to be nice to her. I love her. I won't let you be mean to her," I said, trying to sound firm.

She scoffed. "You'd choose…that…over your own mother?" she said in disgust, waving her hand in the general direction of Vicky.

"You're being awfully hard on him, Mom," Emmett jumped in, surprising me.

"You," she snapped, pointing at him, "Don't you even get me started with you. You're just as bad as him with _Rosalie Hale_ ," she huffed.

"You haven't even met Rose!" he cried, appalled at her reaction.

"I don't need to. I know what she is. I can't believe I raised the pair of you!" She shook her head and walked out.

"I don't know if we can settle her down in a week, Ed. She's really mad," Emmett worried. I was worried, too. Then I realized I'd left my mother alone with Vicky. I ran into the kitchen to find my mother poking at the food, looking annoyed.

"This doesn't have enough salt in it," she complained.

"Emmett's blood pressure came back a little high. I've adjusted the recipe for him. Feel free to add more salt to your own serving," Vicky responded smoothly and handed her the salt shaker.

"Thanks, Vi…Bella," Emmett almost slipped up. He grabbed the platter of chicken, and I helped bring out the under-salted mashed potatoes and green beans.

We all sat down, and my mother looked over at Vicky, who sat next to me. "Aren't you going to serve us? Isn't that part of your job, or do you only serve my son in the bedroom?" she practically sneered.

Vicky's eyes darted to mine. I put my hand on her shoulder, letting her know I'd handle this response. "You're way out of line, Mom. She's my girlfriend, soon to be my wife, if she'll have me. She doesn't serve me like a slave. She's my equal. We work together on projects. Because of her, I've made major breakthroughs, and my next big project will be making a family with her."

"Absolutely not! Edward, I cannot abide by this behavior. You being with her is an abomination, and now you're going to make children to feed into your delusional relationship. She doesn't love you! She can't have children, Edward!" she shouted, but I cut her off.

"Whoa, who told you she couldn't have children? That's confidential medical information. No one is allowed to know that. If someone contacted you and told you about my next project…"

"Edward, don't be ridiculous, it's bad enough you pulled your brother into this mess."

"What are you talking about? Emmett has nothing to do with my fertility work. You didn't talk to mom about this, did you?" I asked him.

He shook his head no hard, eyes wide, just as baffled as I was.

"You can't marry her, and you can't have children with her, Edward. I won't allow it. You've always been a smart boy, but what you're proposing is wrong. Even if you had kids, they wouldn't be socially accepted, once their parentage came to light."

I was crushed. She didn't think people would like my kids.

"Edward," Vicky whispered, her hand gently resting on my shoulder. Her expression was so sweet and compassionate I would have believed it was Bella if I didn't know better. I really wished she was here. I needed her. She cupped my face, so I would turn toward her. Next thing I knew, she was kissing me. The familiar shock filled my body, and I pulled back and looked down at her.

"Bella?" It had to be her.

"Do you really think you and Emmett were so sly, when you two went sneaking off to your lab? Rose and I knew something was up."

"You switched with Vicky?"

"Oh no! Did Rose switch, too? She's been locked in the closet all day," Emmett panicked.

"No, I sent her with Vicky. I didn't want to leave her unattended, especially after what happened in your work parking lot," Bella explained.

"Oh, thank heavens," Emmett said, sinking back down in his seat.

"I think I know why your mother is so upset, Edward. She thinks I'm Vicky," Bella suggested and turned to my mother. "I'm the real Isabella Swan, who went to school with Edward. Vicky is my doppelganger that Edward made."

"Doppelganger?" my mother said, looking between Bella and myself.

"I should call Rose and have her bring Vicky home. Maybe she'd believe you then," Bella suggested.

"Rose is real, too, Mom," Emmett said.

"Oh please, Emmett. I knew Edward had made a Rosalie Hale robot a while back. There's no way the real Rosalie Hale is dating you. You don't even leave the house," my mother snapped at him.

Bella was on the phone with Rose in no time. "His mom thinks he wants to marry Vicky. Apparently, she knew about them and came to stop him. Can you bring Vicky home and also show yourself, so she'll lay off Emmett?" Bella asked of Rose. Bella smiled and gave me a thumbs up. "Thanks, Rose, I'll see you then," she said and hung up. "She'll be back tomorrow afternoon. She has a botanical body wrap scheduled in the morning, and she's not missing it."

"Do you think I should learn to do body wraps?" Emmett asked Bella.

She shrugged. "Wraps do a bunch of different things. It all depends on the mix and what you want it to do. It wouldn't hurt to do a little research on them and run it past Rose. She may not be comfortable with doing them yet, though. Are you two at the naked stage yet?" Bella asked casually.

My eyes were darting back and forth between my mom, Emmett and Bella. I wondered how he was going to answer that question, especially in front of my mom.

"Well, she strips down to her bra and panties, when I give her back massages," he said with a side glance at my mother.

"You can't really think I'll believe the real Rosalie Hale comes to you for back massages?"

"Foot, head and calf, too…those heels are killer they put her in," Emmett said casually.

"Leave your reprimands until tomorrow, Mrs. Cullen. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by who shows up," Bella said with a grin.

My mother kept a close eye on her the rest of the evening, I was sure looking for tells that would give her away as a robot. She had no idea how lucky I was to get the real girl. I couldn't wait to prove it to her. I was sure my mom would love her, once she knew Bella was real.

Rose came home the next afternoon with Vicky in tow, who was carrying all the luggage. She gave Bella a hug. "Vicky, put my luggage in Emmett's room. He owes me a Swedish massage, since we had to come home early," she said, dismissing Vicky. "So, where's the momma bear who thinks she raised a couple of perverts?"

My mother came out of the kitchen, when she heard the girls talking, but Vicky was already out of the room.

"Well?" my mother said, waiting for the proof to appear.

"Your sons _are_ perverts…well, at least Emmett is, but he knows how to handle a woman's body, making the leering worth it," Rose said with a shrug. "Where's my bot? I have a promo I'm supposed to do next week, and I want her to go in my place. Emmett is going to be sending me back to the spa to make up for the crap you two pulled," she said, pointing at me.

Emmett came into the room with Rosie bot behind him. "Vicky brought your stuff into my room. Do you plan on staying?" he asked.

"Hell yeah, I am. You and my bot are giving me the works, since you pulled me out of the spa early. You're sending me back there, too, but we're going to set your mom straight first. I've got to check in with Rico, anyways. You know how he gets nervous, especially when he doesn't hear from me for a day. He still isn't convinced you aren't blackmailing me in some way."

"Who's Rico?" my mother asked out of the blue.

"My bodyguard, I get stalkers sometimes. It's just safer to have him around when I go out. He wasn't happy with me, when I told him I wouldn't need him at the spa," she explained to my mom.

Vicky came in, finally catching my mother's attention. "Would you like me to start dinner?" Vicky asked.

"Sounds good," Bella agreed. "Mrs. Cullen, is there a recipe you'd like Vicky to try? She has access to the internet and can look up any recipe. She can also follow a recipe more precisely," Bella said.

"Yeah, but her nose doesn't tell her when the cookies are just right, like you can," Emmett bragged. My girl could make some killer cookies.

"I'm still trying to identify the carbon mix in the air, when the cookies are what Emmett and Edward consider perfect," Vicky explained.

"If you get the dough together, I'll bake them," Bella bargained.

"White chocolate and macadamia nut, please," Emmett begged, pulling a face, looking like a big-eyed idiot.

"Sounds good, I'll need to run to the store for some of the ingredients…" Bella started, but I cut her off.

"Just some regular chocolate chip will be fine. Emmett can live without his cookies another day," I said, pulling her into my arms.

She smiled up at me and puckered her lips. I kissed her softly, keeping control of myself in front of my mother. "I love you," she said with a smile.

"I love you, too."

"Do you two always have to be so mushy?" Rosalie complained. "Emmett, you're with me. Vicky, let me know when dinner is ready. I'm starving."

"You ate lunch at 1:03 PM, you'd have to go without food for five days before you'd starve," Vicky, the logical robot, expounded.

"Yeah, yeah, just let me know when the food's ready," she said and started for the hallway.

"Wait, how did you and Emmett meet?" my mom asked.

"A food delivery guy took a picture of your boys in front of their trophies," she said, pointing at them. "He was with my look-a-like and said she was his girlfriend. I tracked his ass down, and Edward said I could have my bot. I get first dibs or whatever, so anyways, the rest is history," she said with a shrug and turned to Emmett. "Let's go, my shoulders are killing me," she demanded and stormed out of the room. My mother looked after her confused.

"So, that's Rose," Bella said with a wave. "She's a bit of a handful, but we love her."

"So, you girls are really real?" my mother asked, looking shocked. I would have been offended, if her shock wasn't warranted, but it was.

"Yup, I met Edward at a bar, we reconnected, and he gave me the housekeeper job a week later. I've claimed the sweet man as mine, and I'm not giving him up."

My mother stepped very close to Bella and looked into her eyes. It looked like she was searching for something, trying to find a sign to prove she was human. Bella lifted her left knee, showing where there was a little scar on it. "Robots don't scar, at least not yet," she said with a proud grin.

"You want to buy an engagement ring for a real girl?" my mother blurted out. I blushed and nodded yes. "You're going to marry my son?" she asked Bella.

"When he asks, yeah."

My mother let out an ungodly squeal, causing the dogs in the neighbor's yard to go nuts. "My baby's getting married!" she cheered and pulled Bella and myself into a tight group hug. "I'm so glad you met a _real_ girl, Edward. I knew you were lonely, when you started building the first robot. I was surprised when you gave it to Emmett and started on another one. I'm so happy Bella's a real girl. My babies are growing up," she said wistfully, releasing me and cupping my face.

"So, will you help me get a ring for her?" I asked.

She turned to Bella and hugged her again and kissed her cheek. "For this lovely _human_ girl, of course!"

I let out a sigh of relief. I knew she'd love Bella once she met her. Bella was too amazing not to love.


	22. Chapter 22

**Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma. I'm sorry this update is so late. I've been busy the past couple weeks, getting out house on the market and our kids back to school. Talk about crazy days!**

 **Chapter 22: Writing a Proposal**

Bella was still fast asleep, when I heard a light knock on my door. I had been lying in bed with my eyes closed, enjoying the tight quarters of our sleeping arrangements. I really needed to get a better bed, but my smaller one kept her snuggled tightly against me. It also didn't give her room enough to slide off my shoulder and onto my arm, causing it to go numb. I kept the feeling in my extremities in my bed.

"Edward," I heard my mother call softly.

"Edward's mine…mine…mi…" Bella mumbled in her sleep, snuggling closer. I rubbed her back to comfort her in her sleep possessiveness.

My mother giggled. "I think she loves you," she whispered.

I nodded, not wanting to talk and wake my girl.

"Can you wiggle out? I wanted to talk to you about your proposal and engagement ring," my mother said quietly.

"No, mine," Bella mumbled, irritated, into my chest. Her arm tightened around me. I couldn't help it, I snickered a little myself, along with my mother. Unfortunately, the bouncing of my chest woke Bella.

"Morning, sweetheart," I said softly.

She gave me a smile and leaned up and kissed me. Then she plopped down on my chest and closed her eyes, not even noticing my mother, until she awed at us.

"That'd better not be Emmett," Bella said with her eyes still closed. That made my mother giggle some more.

"It's my mom," I answered.

Bella's eyes popped opened, and she sat straight up. "Oh, sorry, Mrs. Cullen. Did you need something this morning?"

My mother chuckled and waved her off. "No, dear, and please, call me Esme. I know this house inside out and upside down. I lived her for over thirty years, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

"Don't apologize for being a good hostess. I was just trying to sneak Edward away, so we could work on our little project," my mother said, grinning widely.

"Sure, yeah, that's fine. Sorry," Bella said, untangling from me further. I couldn't help but pout.

I gave her another kiss, as I slipped out of bed. "Go back to sleep. It's still early. I'll have Vicky make breakfast this morning."

"Thanks, baby," she said and laid back down. She snuggled down into my pillow and inhaled deeply, letting out a little sigh of contentment. I couldn't resist giving her a kiss on the cheek before I left. She answered the action by saying, "Love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart," and I did, so much. I was so lucky to have her, and by the size of the smile on my mother's face, she knew I was lucky to have Bella, too.

I followed my mother to my lab door, still curious on how she knew about my bots. I was so sure I had kept them hidden from her.

"We can do the planning in your study, dear, that way we won't be overheard," my mother suggested.

When we walked down, she looked around, oddly enough, under my desk. "I see me being gone broke you of leaving your dirty socks under your desk, and there aren't any dirty dishes down here, either."

"You used to come down here?" I asked surprised.

"Edward, how else do you think your dirty socks got into the hamper and your late night snack dishes into the dishwasher? You've made some pretty amazing things, but a teleporter wasn't one of them."

She had a point. I'd never thought twice about my dirty dishes or socks until she was gone, and I had run out of sock and then ran out of dishes. I had bought a new pack of socks after the second week she had left, wondering where all of mine were, until it started to stink under my desk. I couldn't be upset with my mother for tracking down my nasty socks to wash them. Thank heavens I had been broken out of that habit before Bella came to work for us.

"Now, back to the task at hand. Do you have any plans on how to propose to her?" she asked.

"Not really. I did a few internet searches, but nothing seemed to stick out."

"You need to make it special. It has to be all about her. She needs to know how much you love her and for how long. Tell me a little about your history with her," my mother ordered.

"We went to high school together. She never picked on me and would give the guys who did dirty looks, and she wouldn't go out with them when they asked her. She borrowed this pencil from me," I smiled, holding it up, "and said thank you with a sweet smile. We didn't actually talk or interact, really, but I could tell she was a very nice person, not to mention she was beautiful." Bella and I really didn't have a lot of history together in reality. She was crazy to come home with me. I'd come to realize Bella could be a little reckless at times.

"Let's focus on finding a setting you'd be comfortable in. Asking a woman to marry you can be very stressful, even when you know she plans to say yes," my mother suggested. I think she was disappointed in my lack of history with Bella, but I wasn't going to tell her Bella had been the center of all my fantasies for years, before we'd even met formally.

"Sounds good, Mom. Now I just have to come up with the perfect wording for the proposal." There were just so many ways to ask. Will you do me the honor of being my wife? Will you marry me? Will you bless my life with your presence for the rest of eternity? That last one was one of many I'd found on the internet. I needed to find my notes and run them past my mother. Maybe she would know which one I should use.

While digging through my files, looking for my girlfriend proposal notes, I came across the paper that had all my questions written out, including the famous, "Are you my girlfriend?" question, from back when I had first found Bella. I had kept it for reference, because she had written down a lot of her favorite things on it. I jokingly wrote on the bottom of it, "Will you marry me?" I only wished it would be that easy. I scratched it out and smiled when I wrote, "Will you be my wife?" I kissed the paper and tucked it back into my girlfriend folder. Hopefully, I'd get up the nerve to ask her properly. There was no way I was asking her by note.

Mom helped me pick the ring and set up dinner on the back patio with something called fairy lights. I was pretty sure they were just white Christmas lights, but I wasn't going to dispute the name with my mother. I had more important things on my mind, like what to say when I proposed. I had written out six different versions. None of them seemed very fitting.

She finally convinced me to just go with my heart. She usually knew more on social subjects than I did, and while saying what was in my heart sounded like it was the makings for a memorable and endearing proposal, I had a gut feeling I was going to screw it all up badly.

The dinner table was set, and candles were lit. I went and knocked on my bedroom door, where Bella was getting dressed. I hoped she wouldn't be disappointed that we were only going to the back patio. I was already second guessing myself.

She appeared in the doorway and pushed the inhaler in my mouth with a smile. "You've got this, Edward. Try and relax. Did you take your medicine?" she asked.

I nodded yes. She didn't realize that it could sometimes upset my stomach, and it made me feel on the verge of vomiting now. I silently prayed I wouldn't vomit while I proposed.

"We're having dinner on the patio," I informed her.

"It's probably best to be in a familiar setting for this," she said, understanding exactly why we were doing this at home. She really was perfect for me. I loved her so much. I hoped by the end of the night, she truly knew how much I loved her.

I pulled out her chair for her and sat nervously across from her. Vicky brought out the first course, and I wondered if I was going to be able to make it through all four to the dessert without throwing up.

"Edward, just do what feels right," Bella encouraged.

I nodded my head. "Do you mind if I propose first, instead of waiting to do it after we eat? I don't think I'll be able to stomach anything until I get it over with."

She giggled a little and reached across the table, taking my hand. "Go ahead and give it a shot," Bella said with a sweet smile.

"Okay, from the heart," I mumbled to myself, but I think she might have heard it. "Bella, I love you. I have for a long time. The first time I saw you at school, you instantly became the woman of my dreams and fantasies. You were the only girl for me then, and even after all these years, you stayed in my head and my heart. I was so lucky the night Emmett stole Vicky, and you walked into the bar instead of her. I almost lost my virginity to a machine, instead of the angel she was modeled after."

"What?" Bella snapped.

My eyes shot up to hers.

"You actually planned to have sex with her that night?" she said, not sounding happy.

"I…I…"

"Are you serious? I just thought Emmett was being a douche and trying to get you in trouble when he said that."

"Well…I…um…"

"So, you didn't just make her to be your assistant?" Okay, she was definitely upset. "Why did you really make her? Tell me the truth, Edward."

My eyes widened. I sort of thought she already knew this. "Be…be…because…I couldn't have you," I finally got out. I dug out my inhaler. This was going all wrong.

"She really was going to be your sex bot," she stated plainly.

My mouth opened and closed several times. No words were coming into my head. I had no idea what to do or say.

Vicky came in with a wine bottle to refill Bella's glass. Bella glared hard at her.

"Vicky, have you ever been erased?" Bella asked her.

"I don't believe so. My earliest dated program has no blank spots in between. There are things, such as Rosalie bot's previous relationship with Emmett, that I have been programmed to hide."

"What else are you programmed to hide?" Bella snapped.

"Emmett asked me to hide my interaction with Rosalie bot from Edward, which you both were made aware of. I've also have not told Edward that you broke his Tardis replica, or his mother's vase. The boys also do not know that you drank the last of the whiskey."

Bella's eye darted to me, wondering if I'd be upset. When she realized I didn't really care, she went back to interrogating Vicky. "Have you been told to hide anything from me?"

"No, as my primary programmer, I can't hide things from you."

"Were you programmed to say that?" she asked.

"Everything I say is a programmed response," Vicky replied.

I held my breath. Vicky wasn't hiding anything from her. I took another puff on my inhaler.

"Vicky, why did Edward make you?" she outright asked her.

"I am a replica of Isabella Swan. I was originally created to act in her place as his girlfriend and do all that entails."

"Were you made to have sex with Edward?" she blatantly asked Vicky.

"Yes, I was created to please Edward in every manner in which he wished to engage in with the real Isabella Swan."

I was cringing. This would be the part where Bella started swearing and throwing things at me.

"Everything you were originally programmed to do, was what Edward wanted to do with me, the real Isabella Swan?"

"Yes, I was created to please him the way he wished the real Isabella Swan would."

"Have you done things to please him in the way I would?" she asked.

"My existence became irrelevant, when the real Isabella Swan took my place. My purpose is now to please you and assist Edward and you in all of your work."

I was cringing, dreading for the backlash. Bella dismissed Vicky, and I waited for it.

"Why did you make her look like me?" her question was intense. I had a feeling it would make or break everything.

I struggled to find my voice. I puffed my inhaler again and fought against my turning stomach.

"Edward, answer the question. Why me?"

"You…you were all I ever wanted. The first time I saw you….I never hated myself so much."

Her brow furrowed. "Why did you hate yourself?"

"Because I was me, because I couldn't talk to you. I'd never be able to talk to you, and you were all I wanted. You were so beautiful, sweet and kind. There's never been anyone I've wanted more, but I knew I'd never have you. I…I…I couldn't even speak to you, Bella!"

Her eyes followed the inhaler in my hand, as I took another puff. "I need a moment," she said, getting up and leaving me at the table alone. I was thankful everyone except the bots were gone from the house. I didn't want anyone witnessing my failure.

 **A/N: Have faith, Bella won't leave him hanging long, and I won't leave you hanging long, either.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma**

 **In My Sleep made the TOP TEN list for July on Twifanfictionrec dot com. They have an awesome library of completed fics, so check them out.**

 **Chapter 23: Re-written Rules**

I sat at the table alone, trying to think of a way to salvage things with Bella. There were no articles on how to apologize for making a sex robot in your girlfriend's image. The few articles I scanned about apologizing were about cheating. Now that I thought about it, Vicky's existence was sort of cheating on Bella.

I heard my lab door slam. I stood, wondering if I should try and stop her from destroying everything down there, or just let her do it. Before I could decide one way or another, she walked back into the room. I couldn't tell her mood by her demeanor. She didn't seem angry.

"Edward, I consider Vicky a sister. I know you see her as a robot, but I see her as a person. Mentioning in my proposal that you'd planned to have sex with her the night we met is not acceptable. We're going to do this my way. Can I borrow a pencil?" she asked with her hand out.

I went to pull one out of my pocket protector, but she shook her head no. I shook mine in mirror, not understanding.

"Not that one, Edward, you know which one I want," she ordered, while wiggling her fingers at me.

I looked down at my precious pencil I had kept all these year. I covered it with my hand, to protect it from her. "Please, it doesn't have any lead," I pleaded. I didn't want her to break it.

She held up a little vial of replacement lead. "I've got that covered, give me the pencil, Edward, it's important," she said sternly. She wasn't going to change her mind.

I carefully held it out to her on two hands. "Please, be careful with it. It's one of the few happy memories I have of school."

Her expression softened, and I flinched when she dismantled it and refilled it with lead. She pumped out a bit of lead and smiled at me. "See, its fine. I didn't break it."

I let out a breath I had been holding. She pushed me back into my seat and straddled me. That was a good sign, right? Women were so confusing.

"Tell me about your good memory with this pencil," she asked softly.

I gulped, wondering how much I should tell her. I had been fantasying about her, when she had walked into the room and sat down next to me.

"Edward, please tell me?"

I nodded and took a puff on my inhaler. "I was waiting for class to start. I always arrived first, because it was safer to be out of the hall and under the teacher's watchful eyes. It also gave me time to watch you walk in and take your seat," I said with a blush. "You were so beautiful, are so beautiful. Your smile just radiated off of you, and I wanted so badly to be the one you smiled at. I was daydreaming about you smiling at me and…and…" I decided to skip the part where in my daydream, she adored me and only wanted to kiss me non-stop.

"Edward, I know you're keeping something from me," she said teasingly, twirling my pencil in her fingers.

"You kissed me, in my daydreams…a lot," I admitted, not wanting to upset her. I didn't want her to break my pencil.

She smiled widely at me and kissed me lightly. "Go on," she encouraged.

"You walked into the room smiling and sat down next to me. You were almost late to class, like usual. You dug frantically in your backpack, only to stop when the teacher called the class to attention. Everyone was getting ready to take notes, but you only had a notebook out. You looked right at Jasper Whitlock, the bane of my existence. I knew you were going to ask him for help, but then you scowled at him and looked at me. You chose me over Jasper Whitlock." I couldn't help the smile that crept up on my face.

"You asked me if I had a pencil you could borrow and smiled so brightly at me. Then you said thank you to me when you took it. I didn't take notes that day. I watched you the whole time. Your hands were so dainty around my pencil and worked it expertly. Then you gave it back with a smile and thanked me again. Only this time, you said my name. I didn't even realize you knew my name until you said, 'Thank you, Edward, you're a lifesaver' and handed me my pencil back.

"I wanted to offer to let you keep the pencil, but you know me, I couldn't speak. I was pretty sure I smiled at you, but there was no telling how it came across. Your smile didn't falter as you got up and left, waving goodbye to me. That'd been the best day of my life."

She leaned in, kissing me again. Maybe everything would be alright. I heard the rustle of paper and looked down to see what she had. "I thought if we were going to do the proposing thing, we should do it right," she said.

She twisted on my lap toward the table. I couldn't see what she was doing. Then she turned back to me. "This is the pencil you kept because you loved me. This is the paper I went in search of, because the day I found it in your office, I knew I loved you, more than I'd ever loved anyone. I needed to see it, to remind myself that you were the only one for me. I was going to write the question on it myself, but my heart about burst, when I saw you'd done it for me. I just had to answer your question. I thought it fitting I use a symbol of your love with one of mine to seal the deal." She held up the paper she had kept hidden from me.

Next to the words, "Will you be my wife?" was a big heart-covered, "YES!"

"Yes?" I asked with a gasp. She popped my inhaler in my mouth and then kissed me. "Yes," I whispered when she pulled away. "You said yes?" I clarified.

She smiled that sweet perfect smile at me and nodded yes.

"Am I dreaming?" I asked, worried I might be.

"No, silly man, now give me my ring."

"Right, yes, right! I have it, here, in my pocket," I said, patting down my body frantically.

She giggled and reached into my coat pocket and pulled it out with ease.

"Yes, that's it," I confirmed, and she handed it to me. I opened it and turned the little box towards her. "Bella, will you be my wife?" I fumbled out.

"Definitely," she answered and took the ring from the box. She handed it to me and held out her hand. I was shaking so bad, I didn't think I'd get it on her finger. Her free hand steadied mine, and she smiled up at me. "I love you, Edward. Don't you ever forget that, and now your pencil has another happy memory," she said, as she tucked it in my pocket protector.

"The best memory of my whole life," I said softly. I wanted to kiss her again. She must have read it in my eyes, because she pulled me down for a kiss.

"Yeah, my best memory ever, too," she agreed.

The rest of the evening went perfectly. I was thrilled to be able to announce our engagement to Emmett, Rosalie and my mom when they came home. My mother squealed excitedly and hugged us both and then hugged Rosalie and Emmett as well. She ran out of the room, shouting, "There's so much to do!"

"I hope you haven't been planning your wedding since you were twelve, because I have a feeling Momma Cullen is about to take over," Rose warned.

I looked down at Bella, worried she'd be upset, but she smiled up at me. "I'll worry about that later. I'm just going to enjoy being engaged for the moment."

"Have you picked a date yet?" Emmett asked.

"No, I was hoping soon, but I don't know what Bella has in mind."

"Soon sounds good to me, too," Bella answered with a smile.

I took out my phone, pulling up my calendar. I wasn't a busy person. I did get allergy shots regularly, though. Bella, on the other hand, had a lot on her calendar. There were several different kinds of classes she was taking from the community center. I really liked the yoga one. For some reason, she always came home looking for me. Maybe we could schedule our honeymoon around them, I wondered silently.

"How about three months out, on May fourth?" she asked.

"May fourth," Emmett guffawed. "You have to do it, Edward, you have to get married on May fourth."

"What's May fourth?" Bella asked curiously.

"It's a Star Wars thing. May the fourth be with you…" I trailed off, hoping she'd get it.

She giggled. "Cool, so, is May fourth good for you?" she asked again.

I glanced at my empty calendar. "Yup, I'll put in for the vacation time. I have a lot saved up. Do you think a month will be enough?" I asked.

She pulled me down for a kiss and whispered, "That'll be perfect. I can't wait to get you alone."

"Now that could be interesting," I whispered back.

"So, how did he do with his proposal? Did he totally mess it up like you suspected he would?" Rosalie asked bluntly, and Bella blushed.

"You messed it up, didn't you?" Emmett stated, shaking his head.

"I'd like to see you do better. Proposing isn't easy," I defended.

"Sure it is. Rose, will you marry me?" Emmett asked.

"Yes," she answered sharply.

"See, nothing to it," Emmett said with a shrug. "You've just got to put yourself out there and be ready for the rejection. I feel better for asking, even if she did say…" I think it just hit Emmett that Rosalie had said yes. "Did…am I…" He looked like he was worried for his sanity. "Did she just say yes?" he asked me, looking stunned.

I nodded my head yes.

His eyes lit up.

"Whoa now, don't get any ideas. I'm not marrying you. You can't just go and blurt out a half-assed, rub-it-in-your-brother's-face proposal and expect me to take it seriously. I was helping with the example."

"But you did say yes," Emmett said with a grin.

"It wasn't a real proposal, dipwad. Get over yourself. I'm not marrying you on a technicality."

"But you said yes, that's like a verbal contract," Emmett pushed.

"That's a load of bull. Bella, you know law stuff. Tell that numbskull we're not engaged," Rose huffed.

"I'm sorry, Emmett you can't make her marry you."

"Are you sure? You and Edward were witnesses."

"Drop it, jackass. If you ever propose to me again, it'd better with be with biggest diamond ring you've ever seen and a prenup protecting my assets and leaning in my favor for when you fuck up."

"I can do that now," Emmett said, sounding hopeful.

"No, not just no, but HELL NO!" she snapped.

"You're mean," Emmett said pouting and left the room.

"Idiot," Rose mumbled.

"My brother and I both scored perfect on our SAT's. We aren't idiots."

"If there was a social SAT test, you'd both fail horribly, you're both idiots," she snapped and stormed off.

"I don't think she likes it when Emmett calls her mean," Bella said with a sigh.

"Yeah, well, she is, she just called me an idiot, and I didn't even do anything to her," I said in a duh voice.

"You stuck up for the guy who hurt her feelings," she said with a shrug. "But you're right, that was no reason to call you an idiot. You, my handsome sexy man, are a genius and my fiancé, and I'm not letting them rain on my parade," she said with a wide grin.

"As someone who'd score perfect on the social SAT's, do you think Emmett will ever have a chance with Rose?" I wondered.

She smirked. "I know Emmett's upset right now, but if he actually analyzed the whole fight, he'd probably cheer up. She wanted him to propose again, with a big ring and a prenup. I know that doesn't sound romantic, but if you take into consideration the kind of people Rose deals with on a regular basis, that's pretty serious."

My eyes lit up, as I replayed the fight in my head, realizing she was right. Rose, much like Bella, had basically told him to try again, but do it sincerely and right. "Holy cow!" I giggled.

"Yeah, holy cow is right."

"I should let him borrow my proposal notes. I know I messed up my proposal, but Rose is flashier. I have a few scenarios that she might like," I said, darting off to my lab to grab them. I had to tell Emmett the news, otherwise he'd be pouting all night.

I burst into his attic room, sure he'd be hiding in there away from Rosalie. He looked up at me surprised and then frowned. "I know you're happy, Edward, but could you maybe be happy somewhere else?" he asked.

I waved my proposal notes at him. "Not after what Bella just told me. Stop and think about it, Emmett. Just like Bella, Rose said try again. Big ring and prenup sound familiar?" I teased.

"She was just…"

"No, no, Bella said she meant it. Stop and think about it. She hangs out with shallow, greedy people all day, a prenup is just standard practice for her circle. Emmett, she said to propose, and then she said make the prenup in her favor, because she knows you'll screw up, meaning she'd say yes!" I squealed, much like my mother.

His eyes slowly grew wider, as it all started to sink in. "Oh, my gosh, Edward! I'm gonna marry Rosalie Hale!"

"I know, right!" I chuckled. "Bella did say she thinks you hurt Rosalie when you call her mean."

"Well, she wasn't nice," he defended.

"No, she wasn't. She even called me an idiot after you left. I don't think she was raised right."

Emmett frowned and shook his head. "She wasn't. Her family isn't very nice to her. I'm pretty sure that's why she's always grouchy. She doesn't even hang out with nice people when she's not here. All her outside friends are super mean and backstab. I don't know how she can stand it. She's counting down to when the movie promotions are over. I'm hoping being away from those people will make her a nicer person."

"Only time will tell," I agreed. "When do you think you'll try proposing again?"

"Not for a while. I think she needs to settle down a bit and get out of the business before I do. She's hot, but honestly, she really isn't very nice to me, or anyone for that matter. If she can learn to be nice, then I'll propose again. For now, though, I'd better go apologize for calling her mean, teach by example and all," he said getting up.

We heard the girls talking in the kitchen. As we got closer, their voices were clearing, and we could make out what was being said.  
"Really, Bella, you had no clue Edward planned to have sex with Vicky? It's pretty obvious that was the whole point of making her."

"But Edward is so sweet. She was his lab assistant when I met her."

"Oh, I'm sure she assisted him alright," Rosalie taunted.

"No, Vicky said she isn't missing any time from when she was first initiated."

"Do you really believe Boy Wonder couldn't cover it up? It's obvious Emmett used to fuck the shit out of my bot. The amount of lingerie he has for her is ridiculous."

"And you're okay with that?" Bella asked Rosalie.

"I see it as an advanced form of jacking off, and I guess you put a stop to that," Rosalie chuckled. "Besides, he stopped messing with her all together when I told him to."

"He did?" Bella sounded shocked. I did, too, for that matter. I looked at Emmett, and he shrugged.

"Yeah, he's wrapped around my finger, and I'm not sure if I like it or not yet."

"They were bullied a lot growing up. Emmett doesn't deserve to be bullied by you, too."

"I'm not," Rose said, waving off Bella's concern.

"You do hurt his feelings, Rose. I know he can be a pervert, but Emmett is a really smart, nice guy, and you're lucky enough for him to be infatuated with you."

"There are a lot of people infatuated with me, Bella. I want someone who sees me as more than an actress."

"I'm pretty sure Emmett does."

Rosalie let out a sigh. "Yeah, sometimes I think he does, the idiot," she said with a small smile. "I should go make nice. The dumbass didn't even realize how insulting he was."

"They never do," Bella said with a chuckle.

Emmett looked at me wide-eyed and ran to his attic, so he wouldn't get caught eavesdropping. I, on the other hand, didn't care and gave Rosalie an encouraging smile, when she passed me in the hall. I rushed into the kitchen and wrapped Bella up in my arms. She giggled and kissed me.

"What are you so excited about?" she asked.

"My girlfriend agreed to marry me. I want to celebrate!" I cheered.

"I know just how to do it, too," she said, pulling out of my arms. She grabbed the whipped cream from the fridge and headed for the hallway.

"Messy food's not supposed to be in other parts of the house."

"Tonight, we'll make the exception, because I don't think you want your mother walking in on me sucking this off your cock," she said, waving the can of whipped cream at me.

Yeah, I followed her fast and didn't say another word about the no messy food out of the kitchen or dining room rule. I did make a mental note later that night to do an experiment to see if you could warm whipped cream up and still have it spray right. That stuff was cold!


	24. Chapter 24

**Big thanks to my beautiful Beta Dollybigmomma. I love her! Sorry this chapter is late.**

 **Chapter 24: Out of the Woodwork**

My mother was quick to secure an announcement space in the major papers and a few of the smaller ones, much to our chagrin. She had some distant cousin named Archie come and take a few engagement photos of us together for it. It was kind of nice to have real pictures to hang on the wall. I ordered a few nice frames for them and got copies to take to work.

Bella and my mother had sample invitations scattered across the table. Bella looked a little nervous about them for some reason. My mother kept pushing her for a list of names and addresses for the invites, but she'd only given her Alice and Rosalie's.

"You're not ashamed of my son, are you?" my mother snapped at her.

Bella shook her head no hard. "I just don't have any family and only a couple of close friends. I really don't know who else to invite."

"You haven't given me your parents' information yet, dear. Edward had mentioned in passing that you aren't on good terms with your mother at the moment, but for life events like this, you need to put your differences aside, or you'll regret it," my mom lectured.

Bella looked upset, but wasn't giving a rebuttal. I knew I needed to step in. "Her mother isn't going to be invited, Mom. She's not welcome anywhere near my girl or myself."

"Edward, you need to see reason. I know you don't get along with your father, but I plan to send him an invitation," my mom said, shocking me.

"You're inviting dad? Why would you do that? Why would you even tell me that? You know what sucks is I don't want him there, but because you're inviting him, I'm going to be disappointed, when he doesn't show up."

"But he's your father," mom defended.

"He hasn't been my father in a long time. I don't want him there, and I forbid you from inviting Renee. She's a horribly offensive woman who hurt Bella. I'm putting my foot down on this, Mother," I said sternly.

She pursed her lips, but didn't say anything more on the matter. I had a feeling that wouldn't be the end of it. I pulled Bella out of the room. We both needed a break from the wedding planning. She'd been a trooper, just going along with everything my mother had said, and it worried me.

"You can be firm with my mom, too," I said, closing our bedroom door.

She shrugged at me.

"Bella, this is your wedding. Rose said it was important for you to get to choose everything yourself. If my mother's overstepping…"

"It's not my first wedding, Edward. I had the huge fairytale ball-type wedding the first time around, and it was horribly stressful and not fun at all. I'm grateful your mother's excited for us to get married and accepting of me. If she wants to plan it, I say we let her. I really don't want my mother to come, though."

"She won't be there, honey, I promise," I said, kissing her softly. She settled down in my arms for a cuddle. I had been practicing. As familiar as I was with muscle structure in arms, I had finally figured out how to settle Bella into mine and keep them from falling asleep. I knew I really ought to start a blog for the other clueless guys out there. Not everyone had medical backgrounds and could figure it out on their own. I was tired of not finding any help on the web and decided it was time I be the help myself for others out there like me. I wondered if Bella would mind helping me with the blog. She was very understanding about all my mistakes and could probably word the proper etiquette better than I.

It'd probably be best to start it after we were married, so it could be sort of a success story blog. I looked down at Bella, who had fallen asleep. I decided to talk to her about it on our honeymoon. It seemed like it'd be a fun project we could do together.

The next day at work, I was elbow deep in printed flesh, literally, when Vicky somehow hacked into my computer and started playing what looked to be a live feed from her eye cameras, if I were to go by the time stamp on them.

"Don't even think about it, Bella!" a large dark-haired man shouted, standing in my living room.

"It's been over between us for a long while. Why are you even here? Did my mother send you?" she snapped.

"No, she didn't send me. I looked up the address myself. Edward Cullen wasn't hard to track down, and last I heard from Renee, you were living with your boyfriend. I've had enough of your games, Isabella. It's time for you to come home."

"I am home. I haven't lived with you in nearly two years, Tyler. We're divorced, we divorced for a reason, now get out!" Bella snapped.

I was freaking out. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to go to her and help her, but I didn't want to stop watching Bella. I had to be sure she was okay. I didn't know why Vicky wasn't kicking that guy out of the house. I finally decided to tap into Vicky directly. I wanted to make sure she had orders to step in to keep Tyler from touching Bella in any way.

"Hello, Edward."

"Vicky, I want you to throw that man out of the house. I don't want him to hurt Bella."

"Bella has ordered me to only touch him if he touches her. She's worried about legal ramifications the gentleman would take against us if we threw him out."

"Fine, just record everything and transfer the feed to my phone. I'm on my way home."

"Okay, Edward, it's done," Vicky said, and my phone screen lit up with the image of Bella and Tyler in my living room. I had to get home. I turned up the volume, so I could listen in.

I realized after I swerved the third time, that I needed to focus on the road and not my phone.

They weren't yelling, but Bella's voice was definitely irritated. I had just pulled into the driveway, when I heard her shout, "Don't touch me!"

I ran as fast as I could into the house, slamming the door open. He had Bella pinned against the wall and was…kissing…her? I took a quick inventory and realized he had her hands pinned behind her back against the wall.

"Vicky, throw him out, now!" I shouted, pissed someone had touched my girl.

Tyler stepped back and smiled at me smugly. "No need to. I was just kissing my wife goodbye."

"She's your ex-wife," I snapped.

He laughed and shook his head no. "Nope, just wife. I expect you to be home this evening, Isabella," he ordered and left the house. I was wondering where the hell Vicky was.

Moments later, she made it out of the basement. She was tucking her own faux flesh down. "It's the first of the month. It was time for hardware maintenance. Has the intruder been removed?" she asked.

"Yes, go back to work," I said, dismissing her.

Bella hadn't moved. I hoped she didn't feel that I couldn't protect her. I would rebuild the dog and give him teeth and a bad disposition.

"Bella," I started, but she burst into tears.

"Please, it's not what it looked like. I don't want him, Edward, I swear it. Please believe me. I'd never cheat on you."

I quickly pulled her into my arms, grateful when she wrapped hers around me.

"It's okay, I know. Vicky let me know he was here. I'd completely forgotten about her monthly maintenance. Are you alright?" I asked, wiping her tears.

Unfortunately, that question led to another round of tears.

"I'm calling the police," I said, but she shook her head no.

"He'd lie, and I'd look like a whore."

"He broke into the house and attacked you, Bella. I'm not letting him get away with that."

"There's nothing you can do…oh God, Edward, I'm so sorry," she said, sobbing harder and pulled away from me.

"Bella, this isn't your fault."

"I should've known better than to trust him."

"I'm sorry he got in the house this time. He won't get in again. I promise to keep you safe, Bella."

She cried harder and turned away from me. "We can't get married."

The words hit me like an atom bomb. I was stunned. She was leaving me. She didn't think I could protect her, so she was leaving me.

"Please, Bella, I promise-"

"You don't understand, Edward…"

"I'll do anything, Bella, please, don't leave me," I begged, falling to my knees.

Her face crumbled, and she confused me, when she dove into my arms, knocking me back on the floor.

"I don't want to leave, don't make me, please," she begged, suddenly confusing me.

"No, never, I know you didn't want him to kiss you. I know you weren't cheating."

She sat back a little, shaking her head no. "I'm married, Edward. I can't marry you, because I'm still married to him."

I felt like she had crushed my heart in her hand.

"Please don't hate me, I didn't know."

"You didn't know?" I asked.

She shook her head no. "He saw the announcement in the paper and came to tell me we were still married. He never filed the papers. We filled them out, and he said he'd file them, but he never did. He even gave me the settlement that was written in the papers. I swear, I didn't know, Edward. I'm so sorry."

She was sorry. Did that mean she was going to go back to him? He had said he expected her to come home. "Are you leaving me?" I nearly whimpered.

She looked at me wide-eyed and shook her head no vigorously. "No, not if you want me to stay. I don't want to leave you, but I don't know if we can get married. He won't divorce me."

I let out a sigh of relief and rested my head against hers. "We'll fix this, Bella. If we have to postpone the wedding, that's fine, but I won't let him hurt you anymore."

She nodded in agreement and went back to crying in my arms. "Your mother's going to think I'm a harlot. She's gonna hate me and tell you to leave me."

I chuckled and tipped her head up, so she could see my face. I wanted her to know I was serious. "If she ever said anything like that to you, I'd kick her out of the house."

"But it's her house…"

"No, Emmett and I bought it from her, when we first became employed. We knew she was struggling financially, and we thought if we bought the house from her, it'd ease the financial burden a bit. Not having a house payment frees up a lot of money. We never expected her to leave us, but I guess her sister needed her. We took care of her moneywise, so the money from the sale of her house was put into savings. For birthdays and Christmas, we'd add to it. It was her retirement fund. She retired a couple of years ago, but didn't need to touch the money, because she lived with us. I don't know if she took up a job, living with my aunt or not, but she really doesn't need to. We'd take care of her."

"I love you," Bella said, and I wasn't sure why she said it, but it made me smile.

"I love you, too." I leaned in for a kiss, and she accepted it, but pulled away sooner than I'd have liked.

"I'm all snotty from crying," she explained and grabbed a tissue box, blowing her nose. "You really still love me, even though I'm married?"

"Well, it wasn't like you did it on purpose, and it doesn't change who you are. There's no reason for me not to love you. Of course, even if there was a reason not to love you, I'm sure I'd still love you, because I always have," I said and touched my pencil.

Her eyes watered again, and I wondered if women were always this emotional after negative events. I didn't remember my mother crying at all when my father had left, but she did cry when he showed up at my graduation. At least with my wedding being put off, it would put off my eventual reunion with my father. I knew no matter what I said, my mother would invite him. She always had invited him to our major life events, as she described them. He'd always shown up to them, but I didn't know if he'd think a wedding would be worth attending. It wasn't an achievement, like a graduation.

"Are you okay?" I heard Bella whisper as we cuddled, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, as long as I have you, I'll be fine."

Emmett came rushing in. "I came as fast as I could. Vicky had me tapped into the video feed as well. I was in the middle of…never mind. I got here as soon as I could. Bella, do you have a copy of your divorce papers?" he asked.

Something seemed to click in her mind, and she ran off to her room. She pulled out a manila envelope and handed it to Emmett.

"So, my coworker, name classified, has a father who's a judge, and he overheard the bullshit your ex-husband pulled, because he was assisting me on the project I was working on. Anyway, turns out my assistant…let's just call him Voldemort…"

"Voldemort?" Bella asked baffled.

"He who must not be named," I answered for Emmett, he called all of his classified contacts Voldemort.

Bella giggled, and Emmett rolled his eye and continued. "Anyways, Voldemort was pissed and took a copy of the recording to his father. He wants to see your divorce papers as well. They're going to fix this for you, Bella. With everything Tyler said, he full-on confessed to some messed up stuff on camera. The judge is going to take him down and grant your divorce," Emmett said firmly. I was wishing I had listened better to what they had been saying while driving home, but I didn't think I'd have survived, if I hadn't focused on driving at the time. Now, I wanted to go back and rewatch the recording, but I knew Bella wouldn't be up to that at the moment.

Bella hugged my brother and giggled and told him to tell Voldemort thank you.

"Yeah, well, you're my little sister, so…" he said with a shrug.

"Thank you, Emmett," she reiterated, and my brother patted her on her head, making her chuckle. "You boys," she said, smiling at his awkwardness. We were so lucky to have her, and I knew both of us would do anything in our power to protect her.


	25. Chapter 25

**Home is Wherever You Are** **and** **Phantom Scars** **are both on sale starting today Sept. 24- Oct 1** **st** **. Get them while you can.**

 **This chapter has been Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma.**

 **Chapter 25: He Who Shall Not Be Maimed**

Emmett's contact, Voldemort, set up the meeting with the judge that evening. I was surprised he was able to work us in so fast. It was obvious he was working after hours to meet with us, since it was going on nine o'clock at night. I gave the guy at the door Bella's name, and he unlocked it, letting us in, because that wing of the courthouse was closed.

It was only Bella and I in the deserted hallways. Emmett didn't come, because he didn't want to expose himself as an agent to the judge. Apparently, you could never be too careful, even judges could be dirty.

What surprised me was, when he opened the door to his chambers, he pulled Bella into a hug.

"George, I didn't know you were a judge," she said surprised.

He gave a little shrug. "We like to keep quiet about it. Not all of my cases go smoothly. Come, have a seat, Bella. This must be the infamous Edward. I saw the announcement in the paper. Congratulations on the engagement."

"Don't congratulate us yet. Tyler said we aren't divorced. We filled the papers out, and I have a copy of them. He said he'd file them for us. He even gave me the settlement specified in the papers. I didn't expect to receive the notice, because my address was our old house. I'd moved around a lot since the divorce. I didn't get the final notice, but I just assumed it was because they couldn't find me," Bella explained and pulled her papers out of her bag.

"Honey, I saw the recording of your confrontation with him in your home. He admitted to perjury to you. In law, that's grounds for suspension and possible disbarment. I've been going over your assault case as well, to see if we can't find something to nail him on. The domestic violence laws here have always irritated me like no other. You didn't have him charged with infanticide, though, which would be a murder charge. That may be our way around the double jeopardy law.

"My old associate will be your new criminal attorney. His name is Peter Marks, he and his son will be handling your divorce and criminal cases. We'll get that divorce pushed through as fast as possible. I've already put in to have your case moved to my court, to be sure Tyler gets the maximum punishment, dear. I'm so sorry you were let down by the system before. I'm not going to let that happen again."

"Just be careful, George. I don't want you to do anything to get you in trouble," Bella worried.

"Don't worry, honey, I can handle myself just fine amongst these wolves," Judge…George...reassured her. How did she know this man? His nameplate said Honorable Judge George T. Whitlock. His last name did sound familiar, but I couldn't place it right then.

He let her know the Marks' would be expecting her the next morning in their office. I wanted to take off work to go with her. I wanted to help in any way I could. I also planned on paying for the attorney's fees myself. I knew Bella had been saving up a lot of money since she had started working for us, but I'd rather not have her tap in to her little nest egg.

Of course, things didn't go as planned. Since she was still legally married, Tyler would have a right to fifty percent of her money. Garrett Marks was the family law attorney at Marks and Associates. He said it'd be best if she used her own money to pay him, and he could request Tyler pay the attorney's fees. He also thought it'd be best if they did a little more digging on the assets, since they were sure Tyler didn't want a divorce for a reason. Also, since Tyler and Bella had been separated for over two years now, there was most likely a large number of newly-acquired assets that Garrett wanted to make sure Bella also received.

We met with Peter, her criminal attorney, next. He explained the strategy of going after Tyler for first degree murder, since he had beaten her with the intent to kill the child and had succeeded. The case should be open and shut, since he had openly admitted to doing it on video. His only defense would be to try and call for dismissal for double jeopardy. Peter was a little worried about it possibly getting overturned, but it all came down to charging him with a crime against the child, as opposed to the crime against Bella. He had already been charged with that and had basically been told he was a naughty boy and not to do it again.

It really made me mad that he had put her in the hospital, but because they were married, he had just been charged with domestic violence, which carried no real penalty, except for anger management classes. Apparently, you had to be beaten and report it at least three times within a certain timeframe, before the jerk would get jail time, which could be as little as four months. No wonder women killed their abusive husbands. There was no law actually protecting them!

I was all wound up when we got home. I was ready for the mess to be over and us to be married and on our honeymoon. I wanted to give Bella a happily ever after.

Emmett had other plans, though. He wanted to take us out to dinner to celebrate Tyler's inevitable demise. I didn't really feel like it, but Bella wanted to go out. I think she just needed to do something that would take her mind off her cases. Thankfully, Bella insisted she pick the restaurant, and it wasn't something too wild and foreign for my lame pallet. I wasn't an adventurous eater like my brother.

We ended up at a little steakhouse and then decided to go out for ice cream. I was busy focusing on not getting ice cream on my hand while I ate my cone, so I didn't hear the conversation leading up to the outburst.

"You know Voldemort's real name?" Emmett shouted at Bella.

A stranger walking by looked at Emmett like he was nuts. "Dude, everyone knows Voldemort's name."

"What?" Emmett was in full panic mode. "We've been compromised! We've been comprised! I trusted you too easily. I knew you had to be a spy. Why would a hot girl want to marry my brother? You were just trying to get to me! Well, that's not happening."

"Emmett, settle down. You're causing a scene!" I hissed at him.

"You can't trust her, Edward. She knows Voldemort!" he pointed at Bella sharply.

Bella just rolled her eyes at him.

"She told everyone. My assistant has been compromised!"

"She hasn't told anyone," I said with a huff.

"That guy walking down the street said he knows Voldemort."

"I think the majority of this establishment would say they knew Voldemort, if asked," I said, trying to explain that it was Tom Riddle they were talking about.

"Oh, no, this place has to be wiped. No one can leave!" he shouted.

People were starting to get upset. Bella, the wonderful woman she was, settled the mess quickly. "Who here knows Voldemort's real name? Raise your hand."

Everyone, even the scooper girl, raised their hands. "On the count of three, could you please say his first and last name out loud," Bella requested.

"NO, more people will-" Emmett started freaking out even more.

"Quiet," she ordered Emmett. "One, two, three," she counted off, and the whole place said Tom Riddle.

Emmett looked confused at everyone. Bella let out a sigh and hooked her arm in his. "Come on, let's get out of here before they throw us out. I like the ice cream here."

When we got in the car, I kept looking back and forth between Bella and Emmett, trying to figure out what had just happened. Emmett was scowling at Bella, which was never a good thing. Emmett being upset tended to lead to insanity.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"He's upset because I know the name of the guy he works with. We all went to school together, and he's married to my best friend, Alice. I got to know George at the engagement party, during the planning stages of the wedding, rehearsal dinner and actual wedding. I know for a fact he only has the one son."

"It could be a daughter!" Emmett threw out there randomly.

"Jazz is an only child," Bella said annoyed.

Emmett grabbed my head, trying to cover my ears. "Stop saying his name out loud!"

"Emmett, no one knows who you work for or who you work with. You making a huge deal out of this was drawing attention to it. If you compromise Jazz, Alice will kick your ass. I know she can, she took kickboxing with me," Bella said through narrowed eyes.

I watched Emmett rub the side of his head, remembering the time Bella had kicked him and knocked him right out. My woman was dangerous. That was sexy. Her eyes darted to my smile, and she smirked. Sometimes, I would swear she could read my mind.

When we finally got home, Emmett rounded on Bella. "I don't trust you. You're a spy. Why else would you be with Edward?" he accused.

The fire in Bella's eyes was wild. "How dare you insult my fiancé. He's your brother and a pretty amazing man. There are millions of reasons to be with Edward. Not to mention I love him madly, more than I've ever loved anyone. If you put him down again, I'll kick your ass!" she snarled at him and stormed out of the room.

Emmett glowered after her. "That's just what a spy would say. A field spy would know how to kick butt like her, too," he whispered at me.

I was with Bella on this. He was being ridiculous. I knew Bella wasn't a spy. "She's not a spy. Didn't you do background checks on her?" I asked him.

"Maybe I missed something," he said, mostly to himself, and ran off to his attic. Nothing good could come from Emmett thinking Bella was a spy. Hopefully, things would be cleared up soon.

I went to go find my fuming girl, to see if I could calm her down. She was in our room on the phone. "Alice, just get over here and bring Jazz. Emmett's acting like an idiot. I swear, if he calls me a spy one more time…Exactly, I'm not from a foreign country…Just get over here and have Jazz set him straight. Okay, thank you, bye."

She turned to see me waiting for her. She walked over and fell right into my arms, snuggling into me. I really liked this part of having a girlfriend.

"Edward, I know Jazz was an asshole in high school, but he's outgrown it. I hadn't had Alice and her husband over for dinner, because I knew how you felt about him. I didn't even plan on letting him come to the wedding, because I didn't want to upset you, but I think he's the only one who can stop Emmett," she explained, but still left me in the dark.

"Jazz?" I didn't know anyone named Jazz. Why would someone name their kid after a music genre?

"Jasper Whitlock, from high school. His dad is George Whitlock, the judge. He's married to Alice Brandon, who's my best friend. She's the one who took care of me when I left Tyler."

"Ja…Ja…Jasper?" I hated how upset I was.

"He won't hurt you, baby. He's not an idiot kid anymore," Bella promised.

It wasn't much later, when her friend and Jasper showed up at the front door. Alice jumped straight into fussing over Bella, checking for bruises and whatnot. I liked how sincerely she cared about my girl.

Jasper stood back silently, letting the girls catch up. He didn't say anything to me, just gave me a grimacing nod.

"What are you doing here? Is there trouble? I knew you'd been compromised!" Emmett rushed out.

Jasper shook his head. "My wife and Bella are close friends, man. I consider her a friend as well. Why do you think I got so pissed, when I saw what was happening to her? Why else do you think I'd get so upset, unless I had a personal interest in her? She's not a spy. She's my friend."

Emmett looked back and forth between Bella and Jasper several times, like he didn't quite believe him.

Jasper just shook his head. "Whatever, dude. I tried." He looked over at me with a frown on his face. "I'm sorry I was such a douchebag to you in school. I swear I'm reformed. Alice and Bella would kick my ass if I was a jerk again."

I took a puff on my inhaler, not speaking to him.

Bella found her way into my arms and kissed my cheek. I was grateful she didn't feel the need to make me accept his apology.

"We've taken up enough of your night. Edward, it was so nice to finally meet you. Thank you for taking care of my girl," Alice said and gave me a surprise hug. Jasper was smiling at her in a lovesick way. They both waved goodbye and left.

Emmett was still looking at Bella suspiciously.

"Emmett, do I know your name?" Bella asked out of the blue.

His eyes narrowed. "Is this a trick question?"

"Just answer me. Do I know your name?" she pushed again.

"Yeah, you just said it."

"Are you compromised, because I know it?"

He looked confused.

"Emmett, I know your name and live in your house. I'm marrying into your family. We'll be in-laws soon. Does me knowing your name compromise you?"

"No," he said slowly, like he wasn't sure.

"Exactly, just like me knowing my friend, Jasper's, name won't, either. We're all safe. I'm not a spy, just like he explained." Emmett was still looking at her funny.

"Oh, for heaven sakes, forget it. I'm going to bed. Edward, you're coming with. I need some help relaxing tonight. Could you give me a special adjustment?" she asked of me.

It took me a moment, but then I realized she wanted to have sex. I nodded yes eagerly. We could both use some special adjusting. I loved having a girlfriend!


	26. Chapter 26

**We published** **Straight Up Interference** **, I'm so excited about that, because it's the dirty version, not the edited somewhat clean version that was on FFN. Check it out, I hope you like it**

 **Also, just for fun, we put together a** **Holiday Romance Collection** **. The Hanukkah story that is in there wasn't on FFN before, so the book is the only way to get it. As always, they are free for Kindle Unlimited user. The easiest way to find them on Amazon is just to do a search for Rose Von Barnsley.**

 **Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma**

 **Chapter 26: Daddy Warpath Bucks**

The next appointment Bella had with Garrett, I couldn't make. I had to work. Aro had been acting even weirder than usual and had congratulated me several times on our engagement. I didn't tell him about all the legal hoops we would have to jump through to actually get married, though. I did think it odd, when he asked me if Bella's father was going to walk her down the aisle. As far as Bella knew, her father was dead, and I had told Aro as much. I was sure we would find someone to walk Bella down the aisle when the time came.

When I made it home later that evening, Bella was sitting on the couch, looking a bit numb. "Are you alright, sweetheart? How did things go with Garrett today?" I asked gently.

She looked at me like she was still in disbelief. "I have a trust fund."

"That's nice," I said, not understanding why she needed to tell me that. I had plenty of money for the both of us. Maybe she wanted to write something up before we married to protect it. "Did you want a prenuptial agreement or something?"

She shook her head no. "We don't need one, I trust you, and you still have more money than me."

"Alright, is everything okay?" I asked.

She shook her head no. "My mother's been lying to me my whole life. Apparently, my father was a drug-addicted loser musician, and reason enough for my grandparents to disown my mom. After his death, my grandfather set up a trust fund for me, and only allowed my mother access to it when certain things happened. She'd get a large sum of money, when I had report cards that were above a 3.5 GPA. Apparently, my mother used that money to take care of me and put herself through college. She always pushed me to get good grades, and now I know why. She'd told me I had a college fund set up so I could get a degree, but it wasn't a college fund, it was a trust fund.

"Then she found out if I married, larger sums could be withdrawn. My husband's name would be added to the account, so he could do things like buy the _fucking mansion_ we lived in! They had some sort of deal set up, where he'd marry me, and she'd vouch for him being truly in love with me, getting him access to my trust fund.

"My mother was receiving regular deposits from Tyler, up until my alleged divorce. He still was taking out money, but because my mother thought we were divorced, she believed he no longer had access to my trust fund. That was why she couldn't believe he'd let me divorce him. I was a damn cash cow for the both of them!"

"Well, how is Garrett going to handle that mess?" I asked, hating Tyler and Renee even more.

"He contacted my grandfather and told him what'd happened. Tyler has been removed from the list of people authorized to withdraw from it. My grandfather is actually going to take legal action against Tyler and my mom for fraud. He was very upset about the whole mess…Edward, he wants to meet me," she whispered the last part.

"You've never met him?" I asked surprised.

She shook her head no. "He found out about what happened between me and Tyler. He was upset about me losing the baby. The trust fund would've paid out more, and faster, if I finished my degree, but if I had a baby, the funds would be cut back drastically and split to benefit the baby in the future. That's why they didn't want me to have a baby. Garrett spoke with my grandfather's attorney, and he's suggested I push through and file the papers as is for the divorce. Then my grandfather's going to come after him and reclaim all the trust money and put it back into my account for me."

"Well, that's good, right?" I asked unsure. She still seemed pretty upset about the whole mess.

"I can't believe this was all going on right under my nose! I didn't even look at the funding source, when we signed the house papers. I trusted Tyler. He told me he'd taken care of it and gone over everything with a fine-tooth comb, so I wouldn't need to. I trusted him and just signed away, without reading the fine print. Who does that? I was going to be a lawyer. I know better than to sign without reading. I was such a naive idiot!"

"Hey, you're not an idiot!" I insisted forcefully.

She looked up at me and smiled sadly. "Thank you," she said and kissed me. "I love you, Edward. I'm so lucky to have you."

"I'm the lucky one, Bella. Don't you forget that."

She giggled and kissed me again. We were disturbed by a knock at the door.

"He's here," she said, standing up shakily.

"Who?"

"My grandfather, he's joining us for dinner this evening."

I looked down at my clothes, thankful my lab coat had protected me from a splatter earlier today. I didn't think Bella was the kind of girl to choose money over me, but I wanted to impress her grandfather so she wouldn't have to.

Bella opened the door nervously. "Hello, Mr. Higginbotham. It's nice to meet you. This is my fiancé-"

"Edward Cullen. After Renee made such a mess, I decided I'd be the one to do the background search and homework on you. It turns out I know your father, Carlisle. I'm curious to see if you're going to be as strange as him."

"I haven't spoken to my father since I was sixteen," I said, feeling more and more out of sorts.

"Not surprising, since he's taken up residence in a bio-dome. When that man commits to an experiment, he really commits."

I had no idea my father was in a bio-dome. That was news to me.

"You've been working for the same lab for four years now. Do you have any plans to branch off and set up your own business, be your own man? From what I saw, you have plenty of capital to do it," he asked, putting me on the spot.

"I don't like the business side of things. I do better in science," I said, feeling lame.

He just hummed and then turned to Bella and frowned. "I'm sorry things have been so hard for you, dear. We should've stepped in when you were a baby and taken custody of you then. Your grandma can be a little difficult, though. She really knows how to hold a grudge, that one. I just couldn't leave you out in the world high and dry, though," he said and cupped her cheek. "You turned out great, despite your origins and upbringing. I was really impressed with how busy you've kept yourself. I'm livid your mother let you become homeless, when she knew full well that house was yours," he growled out.

"I wasn't homeless, just in between places. I didn't like staying where my mother could find me," she said shyly.

His expression seemed to darken even more. "I'm so sorry, Isabella. If you'd like. I could seek a restraining order against her for you as well as restitution."

"No, Edward has security measures in place to keep her away from me."

"Where were these security measures when Tyler accosted you in your own home?" he snapped.

"Down for maintenance. Even still, he's the reason we were able to get Tyler's taped confession. My criminal attorney said he'd be going to prison for a very long time."

Mr. Higginbotham eyed me with disapproval.

"I'm almost done with the dog," I said, taking a puff on my inhaler. Programming him to bite had been problematic. Situations weren't black and white, and sometimes he'd just need to bite and hold, and others I'd want him to bite and tear, causing pain and damage to flesh. It all depended on the offense.

"Dog?" Bella asked. "I thought you scrapped him."

"I decided to rebuild him and give him teeth."

"Are you sure that's wise, after what happened last time?"

"Emmett's in agreement with me on this one and won't mess with his programming. You need extra protection."

"Dinner's ready," Vicky announced from the doorway, making Mr. Higginbotham do a double take.

"This is our home security system, Vicky," I said, introducing her.

"Did she have plastic surgery to look like Isabella?" he asked.

"No, she was designed to look like her."

"Designed?" he asked confused.

"She's a robot," Bella answered with a smile. "She's Edward's lab assistant at home and my helper with the housework."

"You have a lab here? Doesn't Volturi Labs own all your intellectual work?" he asked me.

"Yes, technically, but these are side home projects that have nothing to do with medical advancement. I was just playing around with things," I said, trying to cover my actions.

"If this is what you call playing around…you really need to start your own lab, Son. If you're going to marry my granddaughter, I'm going to have to insist upon it. I've met Aro myself, when I was looking into you. He's an odd and disturbing man. As soon as he found out I was Isabella's grandfather, he insisted on taking a sample of my DNA to prove it. Do you want to tell me why Aro Volturi has a sample of my granddaughter's DNA on file?"

"It's a long story," Bella said, dismissing it. "Let's eat before dinner gets cold."

His eyes settled on me, letting me know I would not be off the hook. He wanted answers. I wasn't sure how well it would go over with him that the very robot, supposedly created to protect Bella, was the reason why Aro was interested in her.

"Is Emmett joining us?" Bella asked Vicky.

"No, he said Mr. Higginbotham is not cleared to know his identity. He'll be eating in his room," Vicky answered.

I just nodded in understanding. That wasn't really surprising. He was still trying to get over the fact that Bella knew Jasper Whitlock.

"Your brother is an odd fellow…like your father?" Mr. Higginbotham asked.

"No, he has a high risk, high security job," Bella started to explain.

"Does he deal with business finance? Maybe he could be the manager of your lab," he suggested.

I shook my head no.

"He's a computer genius. I suppose I could look into business finance classes, if Edward wants to open a lab," Bella said, like she was really considering the idea.

All I could think about was the projects I already was working on and the next one I had planned. I took a puff on the inhaler and then leaned over to whisper in Bella's ear that we couldn't break away from Volturi Labs yet. "The baby," I barely puffed out, and she smiled at me widely.

"Okay, after the baby, we'll open a lab for you," she conceded.

"Are you pregnant again, Isabella?" her grandfather asked.

"No," Bella answered, and her lip quivered.

"I need to fix her organs first. They were damaged when…" I took another hit on my inhaler, feeling too upset to get the words out.

"I lost more than just the baby, when Tyler came after me that day. Edward thinks he can fix me, though. It wouldn't hurt to try," she said, smiling at me.

"We'd like to be married first, though, before we have a baby," I threw out there.

"That's very admirable. Are you locked into a contract with Volturi Labs now?" he asked.

"Well, I have a nondisclosure agreement, and they own all the intellectual property for the project I'm currently working on and the next one, which I've already proposed and secured funding for. I wouldn't be able to do any of my currently proposed projects for any other labs. I'm locked in with them, until my fertility project is completed."

"That's a shame. I want you to come to me once you're free to leave them. We'll find a way to set things up in a simple manner, so even you could run them," he insisted.

Bella was smiling and nodded yes, so I did as well, I guess agreeing to form my own lab once I was done with Aro. I had to admit, the idea of having my own lab was kind of exciting. I wouldn't have to wait to get approval for my projects, I'd just do them.

"Just so you know, Edward, no matter how much I like you, I'm not giving you access to Isabella's trust fund," Mr. Higginbotham said.

I just smiled back at him. "That's fine, I can support us without it. She'd mentioned it being passed on to her children if she had them, though. I think that'd be a better use for it. I don't foresee any financial problems, but I've never tried to run my own lab before. It'd be good to have college funds protected for them," I answered in agreement.

"Yes, it would," her grandfather said, smiling at me pleased. Then he dug into his food, seemingly finished with talking.

I just might win him over yet.


	27. Chapter 27

**Sorry for the delay. We are in the process of moving. It will hopefully settled down after this weekend.**

 **Beta'd by the beautiful Dollybigmomma.**

 **Check out our published books by looking up our pen name  
Rose Von Barnsley.**

 **Chapter 27: Best Left Buried?**

I think Bella's grandfather and Judge Whitlock had had a chat, because just before Tyler was hit with criminal charges, all of his assets were frozen, making it impossible for him to hire a topnotch criminal attorney. The idiot decided to defend himself. The old saying that he who acted as his own lawyer had a fool for a client proved true. Once word of the recording got to him, he tried like mad to get it thrown out, but he couldn't. Bella had been aware that we had security cameras in the front room and by the front door. They weren't anywhere else inside the house, besides Vicky's and Rosie bot's eyes. She knew there were recording devices, and since one party was aware, and it was at her private residence, he couldn't get them thrown out.

Then he tried to discredit them, but that wasn't going to happen, either. We explained that the security feeds were live streamed, and a third party, Jasper Whitlock, had seen them in real time. Of course, his identity and Emmett's as well were both protected under the government, and Judge Whitlock wasn't about to push to have them revealed at the risk of national security. He just had them both turn in statements. Tyler was now under the impression my house was under surveillance, because I was on a terrorist watch list. He was an idiot.

On the video, he had openly admitted to beating Bella, with the intention of killing the baby. It made me feel sick, when he had said her mother had agreed that it was the best way to handle things, since Bella had refused to get an abortion. Her mother was going to be brought up on criminal charges as well, since they had discussed it with intent, and she had encouraged it. We didn't know if the charges would stick, but I was glad they were going to give it a shot. Renee was a horrible woman.

Tyler's criminal case was pretty open and shut, and when the information about the trust fund money came up, he was screwed. The jury showed no mercy, when it came out that he'd killed the baby intentionally, so he could steal more money from Bella's trust fund. His motive was clear, and he was found guilty of murder one and given life in prison.

I hadn't noticed him before, but Mr. Higginbotham had been sitting in the back of the courtroom the whole time. When the courtroom had been dismissed, he waited for Bella and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry you had to go through this, sweetheart, but I'm happy to know that bastard won't ever be able to come near you again," he said and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you, Grandpa," she said, calling him by the title for the first time. His smile widened.

"How long until the divorce is final?" he asked.

"Just two more days. Since we were in possession of the divorce papers we'd pushed through beyond the sixty-day waiting period, the judge signed them quickly and had them filed immediately. Thank you for taking care of the rest for me," she said gratefully.

"Of course, dear. Do you still plan on getting married on May fourth?" he asked.

"Yes. Also, I have something for you," she said, pulling an invitation out of her purse. "I don't have an actual home address for you," she said nervously.

He smiled at her sadly and thanked her for the invitation, but it wasn't lost on me that he didn't give her his home address. "I'll be there with bells on. Edward, we should chat again soon. A large facility is coming on the market that'd be perfect for Cullen Labs. How much longer will it be until you can break away from Volturi?"

I looked at him and back at Bella. "At least a year. I'm nearly done with my current project, but it's impossible to rush my next one. It takes nine months to grow a baby," I said, hoping he didn't think I was slacking or putting things off. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of having a lab of my own.

He chuckled and patted my shoulder. "It takes a while to buy, design and equip a lab as well. We'll plan on a year and a half. That way, you'll have some time at home with my new grandbaby. I'll have my people call yours. Goodbye, kids," he said with a huge grin and walked away.

"I don't have people," I said worried.

Bella giggled and kissed my cheek. "Don't worry about it, honey. I'm sure he'll help you get some."

Now _that_ was something to worry about. I didn't deal well with new people. Hopefully, Bella was just joking.

When we pulled up to the house, there was an old beat-up truck parked in front of it. I wondered if our neighbor had a visitor.

I opened the car door for Bella, taking her hand, as a dark-haired man got out of the truck and started over to us. I didn't recognize him, so it had to be someone for Bella. She didn't have the best track record when it came to visitors, so I tried to rush her into the house. Of course, she noticed.

It was strange how the man suddenly stood stalk still, looking at her intently, when her eyes found him. Neither one was saying anything, so I decided to man up and break the silence. I took a puff on my inhaler and said, "Can I help you?"

His face scrunched up, like he was worried. "I don't know. I'm not sure of anything right now."

"Okay…" I didn't know who he was or what he wanted, and maybe he didn't, either. "Do you know your name?" I asked, a little worried.

"My name, right, of course," he said, and his eyes landed back on Bella again.

"Sir?" I called to him, bringing him back to task.

"Right, Charles, but everyone calls me Charlie. I'm sorry for staring, but are you Isabella Swan?" he asked, confirming my suspicions that he was here to start trouble for Bella.

She nodded yes and took a couple of steps in his direction. I wanted to stop her. We didn't know this guy. It might not be safe. "You look familiar," she said, more to herself than to him.

"Believe me, hon, I'd remember if I met you," he said, but it didn't sound suggestive.

"Who are you, why are you here?" she finally asked of him. Maybe she'd get an answer out of him.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. Please, forgive me. I'm still trying to get over the shock of it all. About a month ago, a man named Aro came to me and insisted I be tested for some disease, said I'd been exposed to something. He had me go to a legit lab and paid for it, so I didn't see a problem with getting checked out. A week later, he shows up at my door again, and I'm sure it's to tell me I'm dying, but instead, he tells me I'm a father."

"What?"

"He said you were my daughter, you and your twin sister, Victoria."

"My father died when I was a baby. His name was Collin Swan," she said, dismissing his claim.

He gave her a half smile. "I know, I'm his brother, Charlie Swan."

I cringed back in disgust. If he thought he was Bella's father, that meant he had to have been with his brother's wife!

She shook her head no. "I'm sorry, now's not a good time for me."

"Wait, Isabella, please. I heard you were getting married, I just…"

Bella ran into the house, and I decided to be a man and stand my ground, so after one more puff on my inhaler, I said, "I think you should go."

His shoulders sagged in defeat. He pulled out a card from his pocket. "Could you have her call me when she's ready to talk? I'd really like to meet her, and her sister."

"You slept with your brother's wife?" I blurted out like an idiot.

He chuckled and shook his head no. "Is that what she thinks? No, her mom was a groupie. She didn't…ah…she didn't have a preference at first. She liked us both, and we didn't really care. It wasn't the best time in my life. I'm sure she'll take her mother's word over mine, but I swear, I didn't know about her and her sister."

"I wouldn't count on her taking her mother's word over yours. With any luck, Renee will be behind bars, just like Bella's ex-husband. I don't think Bella's ready for a new person in her life at the moment."

"Behind bars, is she okay?" he asked.

"I really hope Renee isn't okay," I said and turned toward the house.

"I meant Isabella. Is she okay?" he asked, a little more frantic.

"She will be," I said, finally understanding his comment.

"Does she need anything? Can I help in any way?" His sincerity looked real, but I'd misread people before.

"I'll give her your card," I said, waving it at him.

"Wait, do you know how to get ahold of Victoria?"

Yeah, that was gonna be a problem.

"I do, I'll let her know as well."

He frowned, but he finally retreated back to his truck. It was obvious Aro hadn't dropped the "Bella being a super human" hypothesis. He had tracked down Charlie and taken a DNA sample from him, I was sure to establish a genetic family tree, so he could look for unique markers. The sooner I got away from Aro, the better.

When I shut the front door, Bella was still in the living room. She was watching out the front window, as the man claiming to be her father drove away. "Aro's still looking into me, isn't he?" she said, ignoring the other elephant in the room.

I nodded sadly in agreement.

"You're going to have to leave the lab, Edward, before we're able to have a baby."

"Wait, no, we can find a way to keep you hidden."

"Edward, you can't fix me. I can't go to your work anymore. It's not safe."

"But our baby, Bella. We were going to have a family together. I don't want him to take that away from us," I begged.

She fell into my arms and sniffled, holding back her tears. "We'll figure it out." She pulled Charlie's card from my shirt pocket and looked at it. "Do you think he is who he says he is?"

"Emmett would know," I said with a shrug.

She kissed my cheek and ran up to Emmett's attic. He'd been hiding out there more, still paranoid about exposure, but I knew he was anxious to know how the trial had gone.

I made it to his attic in time to hear her tell him, "Life in prison."

"Good," he answered, sounding relieved.

"Can you look this person up, please?" she asked and handed him Charlie's card. "He was just out in the front yard a few minutes ago, too."

"Sure thing, little sis."

Emmett got right to tracking down info on Charles Swan. Charlie owned a little instrument repair shop in downtown Mesa. He had done a stint in a rehab center not long after his brother had died of an overdose.

"It doesn't look like he's had a relapse…that's rare. He must've been determined," my brother said, looking over Charlie's medical history. "He recently had a test done for HIV at a Volturi Lab facility. At least, that's what the paperwork said, but the test seems to have been diverted. What's this stuff mean, Edward?" he asked me, pointing at the medical records.

"The sample was sent to our in-house lab and split before it was separated. Aro ran a very extensive DNA test on him. Not just your standard 'he's the daddy' one, either. He's looking for something. That's why he's having it mapped so extensively."

"You have to quit, Edward. You can't work there anymore," Bella said.

"I agree with your girl. Aro's being weird, weirder that usual, and that's never good." Another screen popped up, and Emmett's eyes widened. "Holy cow, Aro's had Charlie's brother exhumed for the DNA. Look at this! He has them lined up, I'm guessing to find matching stuff or something?" Emmett asked.

"He's looking for an unusual marker of some sort."

"You can't go back," Bella said, sounding panicked.

"I need to finish my current project first. I'm almost done with it, Bella. I can't leave beforehand, or he'll get suspicious," I insisted. They nodded in agreement. I'd have to work fast on my limb and get out of there quickly, before Aro could pull anything else.

I knew Bella was right about one thing. We wouldn't be able to stick it out and do the fertility project at Volturi Labs with Aro lurking. I didn't want to risk him trying to hurt her to prove something. I didn't want to give up having a baby, but I needed to keep Bella safe. I hoped she'd forgive me for ruining her chance of having a baby. If I'd never made that dang bot, we wouldn't be in the mess we were in now.


	28. Chapter 28

**I'm so sorry for the long delay. We moved to the country, I don't have internet, and my computer is being poopy. I can't email chapters to Dollybigmomma, but we are hoping this new little system works using the Doc Manager. Our internet won't be up until January! AH! This story is not abandoned or forgotten, just being held hostage by the technology Gods.**

 **Chapter 28: Mad Hatter in the Rabbit Hole**

I was in the trial stages of my limb replacement experiment at work. I spent long hours there, frequently pestered by Aro. He wanted me to bring in subjects for my next fertility project and get the early testing done on them. In other words, he wanted Bella.

I refused and used the old saying, I had bitten off more than I could chew. I did have my hands full, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I had taken on sixteen patients, one of which was a quadriplegic. She could give me the most feedback, as I made my adjustments each time. She was an interesting character to say the least. She was divorced, but she didn't seem bitter. She told me her husband had gone insane after the accident that had crippled her. He hadn't left her, she had left him. Much to my distress, Aro took an interest in her as well. We all knew that wasn't a good thing. I warned her off the twisted man more than once, but she found him charming. I didn't know how she could recognize insanity in one man and not in another.

My wedding was fast approaching, and thus, the end of my time with Volturi Labs. I was going to make a clean break. Bella's grandfather was already deeply involved in the setup of my new lab. He had a few people he wanted on my team. I didn't know how I felt about that. I had never worked with or trusted others. My line of work was cutthroat when it came to claiming the first discovery. It was safest to work on your own, but he insisted I needed helpers.

I was overwhelmed in a sense, because I didn't notice something was wrong with Bella, until I found her crying on our bed.

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" I asked stupidly. She obviously wasn't. "Can I help you with something?" I asked softly, kneeling next to the bed. I reached up and took her hand, only to find a well-worn business card in it.

"Did you call him?" I asked, looking at Charles Swan's contact information.

She shook her head no.

"Do you want to?" I wondered. The card's crumbled state made me worry she'd thrown it in the trash and then retrieved it more than once.

"What if it's a setup by Aro?" she whispered.

"Emmett looked into him. He wouldn't have been good enough to hide from Emmett," I said, trying to encourage her.

She wrapped her hand around mine. "Could you call him for me?"

"Emmett?" I wondered.

"No, Mr. Swan. Could you call him?"

I looked down at the card and pulled out my phone. I dialed the number and held the phone out to her, but she backed away and shook her head no.

"Swan Song Music, how may I help you?" a man asked.

"Is this Charles Swan?" I asked.

"Yes, this is he. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Um, I think so, hold on," I stuttered out. "What do I do?" I hissed at Bella.

She looked at me wide-eyed and shook her head.

"Bella, he's waiting, tell me what to say?" I pleaded.

"That's not how role-playing works, you make it up as you go along," Emmett said from the doorway.

We both glared at him, and he backed away. "Just saying, you're doing it wrong."

I looked back at Bella, taking her hand in mine. "Sweetheart, I need to know what to say to him? Do you want to meet?" I asked and looked down at my now-uncovered phone. I was sure it would have shown he'd hung up, thinking it was a prank, but he was still on the line. "Bella, honey, I'm going to ask him to meet us for lunch. Is that okay?" I suggested, taking initiative.

She slowly nodded yes.

"Mr. Swan, this is Edward Cullen, Isabella's fiancé. We'd like to meet you for lunch sometime, if that's alright?"

He cleared his throat, sounding like he might have had a cold or been crying. "I'd love to meet with you. Name the time and place, and I'll be there."

I decided being at our house was probably the most secure, since chances were good he'd ask about Bella's sister, Vicky.

Bella and I waited on the front porch the next day for Mr. Swan to show up. He pulled up ten minutes early with flowers in his hand.

He nervously approached us, and we all stood there silent for a moment. Bella finally broke and invited him in. We led him straight to the dining room. We decided to break the news about Vicky, first thing.

Of course, the news was broken faster than planned, when she walked in and offered Mr. Swan a drink, playing the hostess she was programmed to be.

His eyes darted back and forth, and he took a few quick steps toward Vicky. She backed away. "Halt," she ordered.

His brow furrowed.

"After a bad incident at my place of work, we reprogrammed her to not let people within a three foot radius of her," I explained, but didn't at the same time.

"Reprogrammed?" he asked baffled.

"Vicky is a robot. I know you thought she was my twin, but she isn't. She's more like a helpful double. I do treat her like a sister, though," Bella explained a little better.

Mr. Swan's brow furrowed deeply. "So…she's not a real person?"

"No, just one of my inventions," I agreed.

"But they told me she was a twin…an unregistered one, who was most likely hidden and abused," Mr. Swan said worried.

"No, and I can prove it." I called Vicky over and lifted the corner of her shirt and peeled back her faux flesh, exposing her wires. "She's not human, but her existence isn't seen as ethical or legal at this time, I don't think. I would dismantle her, but Bella has become attached to her," I said with a shrug.

Bella tucked Vicky's flesh back into place and smoothed her shirt before taking her hand. "Vicky is Edward's assistant when he works at home."

"But you're real," Mr. Swan stated, almost as if he didn't quite believe Bella was real, either.

She nodded her head and then lifted her shirt and slapped her bare tummy. "Flesh and bones, no wires...not yet, at least."

"Not yet?" Mr. Swan asked worried. He glared in my direction.

"I highly doubt there'll be wires involved," I mumbled self-consciously to Bella.

"Involved in what?" he snapped.

I was starting to get nervous. I patted my coat pockets, looking for my inhaler. Bella handed me one out of hers. "You're always leaving them laying around."

"Lunch is ready," Vicky announced with a smile, ignoring the tension. There were days I wished I was a robot and didn't have to feel things like tension or worry. Of course, I wouldn't feel love, and I decide being a human about to marry Bella was better than being any robot.

We all sat down, and Mr. Swan continued to glare at me. This was going badly. "So, you work for Volturi Laboratories?" he asked out of the blue.

I nodded yes.

"Not for long. He'll be opening his own lab after we're married," Bella cut in, trying to make me sound good.

"So you can continue with unethical practices?" Mr. Swan snapped, pointing at Vicky.

"If anyone's unethical, it's Aro Volturi!" Bella shouted back. "Vicky was stabbed in the parking lot, and he's been coming after me ever since. How do you think he found you! He had your brother's grave dug up and found out he wasn't my father. If that's not unethical, then I don't know what is," Bella got up and stormed out of the room.

Mr. Swan looked after her stunned. Her words must have slowly sunk in, because he turned to me with narrowed eyes. "You dug up my brother?"

"Not me, Aro, my boss, who's obsessed with Bella and is the reason I'm leaving the company."

"Why is he going after Bella?"

"I suspect he thinks she has some sort of super healing gene, and that was why he was looking to make a gene-based family tree, in hopes of isolating it," I tried to explain my boss's insanity.

"What is it you do for the lab?" he grilled.

"I build replacement limbs and attach them neurologically, so they work like real body parts."

His eyes stayed narrowed, like he didn't believe me. "How do I know my daughter is safe with you?" he finally asked.

I honestly didn't have an answer for him.

"What's going to stop Aro from coming after Bella, even after you leave Volturi?" he pushed.

I looked at him wide-eyed, he was right. There was nothing to stop Aro from his continued pursuit.

"You're going to need to come up with better answers if you think I'm going to let you marry my only daughter," Mr. Swan quipped.

I looked toward the kitchen doorway, where Bella had disappeared.

Short of going on the run and hiding her, there was no way to stop Aro from coming after her, not unless we told him the truth. I watched as both Bella and Vicky walked into the room. The only way to be sure Bella was safe would be to give Vicky over to Aro. By law, she was his. Bella was so attached to her, though. I'd have to talk to her about it.

I watched Vicky move, her strength and obedience could be dangerous in the wrong hands. Did I trust Aro enough to turn over that technology?

No, I didn't. If I ever turned her over, I'd make sure there were several fail-safes before I did.

My mind was lost down that reconfiguration path, when Bella brought me back to the present.

"Isn't that right, Edward?" she had said, and I looked at her, hoping for some clue as to how to answer. I just nodded slowly, watching her eyes to see if I answered right.

She smiled and rolled her eyes at me. I wondered what I had just agreed to.

"See, we'd love to have you at the wedding," she said with a tight smile at her father.

Oh, that was what it was.

"Very well, then I'll be happy to attend," Mr. Swan answered, smiling stiffly. I still didn't think he liked me.

My last day of work was finally here. After extensive fighting and reasoning with Bella, and her nearly calling off the wedding, she agreed to turn Vicky over to Aro. I downloaded Vicky's short life memory files onto a backup drive and then erased her. I hoped Aro would be too excited to get his hands on her and would overlook the illegal means by which she had been made.

I was taking the last readings on Violet's limbs, when Aro came down to see her. She had mentioned they had a lunch date, and to see him flirt with her was a little disturbing. He was easily ten years her senior, if not more.

"I take it this was the last bit you needed to wrap up your work?" Aro asked smiling.

"Yes, my project's finished," I said and took a puff on my inhaler.

"When will Isabella be in for testing?" he asked.

"That's what I wanted to speak to you about."

"Don't worry, Edward, I understand if you want to wait until after your honeymoon to begin," he said dismissively.

I really wasn't sure what to say.

Then Bella knocked on the door. She and Vicky were coming for lunch. Aro's eyes lit up when he saw the pair of them at the door and let them in himself. "Violet, sweetheart, do you mind waiting in my office?" he asked, shocking us all when he passed her his key card. That was the number one security no-no in the world!

"Isabella, Victoria, it's so good to see you again. It's been too long," he gushed over my girls.

Bella burst into tears and hugged a stiff Victoria. She wasn't the same girl we knew and loved anymore.

"Is everything alright?" Aro asked worried.

"Today's my last day at Volturi labs. Bella brought Vicky in, because she's your intellectual property."

Aro looked at us confused.

"Vicky isn't real, she's a humanoid I made using parts from my lab here. Since I'm leaving, I'm turning her over. Bella wasn't stabbed by Royce King, Vicky was. I repaired her, but as you can see," I walked over to Vicky and tugged on the wide collar of her shirt, "she still has a seam mark from when I tried to repair her stab wound. Thankfully, nothing of consequence was in her left shoulder."

"Why have you hid this from me?" Aro growled.

"Because she's mine, and I didn't want to give her up," Bella piped up.

"I've erased all of her programming, except for the basics. She's ready to be put to work. She can tell you how to give her new tasks."

His eyes narrowed at me. "No," he said sharply.

"No?" I asked.

"No, you are not free to go. No, you can't fool me with this fake...whatever. I know you're hiding something, and I'm not going to let it go, Edward. I'm not going to let either of you go!" he shouted.

An alarm went off, and the whole building shut down. Steel safety doors dropped, and we looked at Aro, panicked. I didn't know what he had planned, but we had to get out of here.

"What did you do?" Bella shouted at him.

It was then I registered the worried look on his face. He looked down at his empty key card holder. "It wasn't me," he whispered.

It was, though. I suspected his lovely girlfriend had done something catastrophic, and we were all stuck here until she was finished. I just hoped she didn't kill us in the meantime.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: Hack Cracking**

Bella glared at Aro. She usually wasn't an angry person. I'd seen her look hurt, upset, and emotionally drained, but I'd never seen her downright furious. Even when she was mad at Emmett, she didn't look as scary as she did now. Aro must have picked up on her fury. Even I, who struggled to recognize human expressions at times, could read the clear death threat that was on her face. "What did you do? You can't hold us here against our will. That's called kidnapping!" she spat, poking him hard in the chest. She was a few inches shorter than him, but he still cowered away from her.

"I didn't do it, Violet's at the helm."

"Only because you turned your keys over to her! Was this part of your plan? Wait for me to show up again and then lock the place down so you can experiment on me?" she shouted at him. "I'm not a Guinea pig! I'm a regular human woman, and Vicky is a robot."

"I took blood samples from you both, you're identical twins," he said, trying to defend his stupidity.

"No, you took two blood samples from me. You weren't subtle at all. We knew what you were trying to do, and I wasn't ready to give up Vicky. She's mine, and I don't think you deserve her."

"Not to interrupt your productive conversation, but I need to know how much trouble we're in. Aro, is Violet acting under your orders?" I cut in.

"No, I don't know what she's doing. She's only a high school graduate. I doubt she even knows what she's doing. This has to be a complete misunderstanding. She must have hit the lockdown on accident," he said, shaking his head, clearly in denial. I would suppose it was possible Violet had triggered the lockdown on accident, but I really doubted it.

"Did you do any background checks on her before you started dating her?" I asked.

He looked at me like I was crazy.

"Edward, only Emmett does that. That's not a normal thing," Bella answered, surprising me.

"But he's head of a multibillion-dollar corporation. The labs house vital expensive secrets that can destroy the company if the discoveries are leaked out to competitors. If anyone should be doing a background check, it's him," I defended my point.

"She's your patient. Didn't you look into her?" he snapped back.

"I looked into her medical history, not her criminal history!" I yelled, exasperated.

"She seemed like such a nice girl," Aro said with a frown.

"We need to determine if we're safe of not. Vicky, hack the security cameras in the penthouse office suite. We need to see what she's up to. Display them on my laptop, please."

"The security system is not hackable," Aro said snottily, only to eat his own words moments later, when his office appeared on my screen.

"See, it was an accident," Aro said smugly, pointing to the image of Violet, munching on a bag of chips and spinning in his computer chair. "I'll just call her and walk her through turning everything off." He pulled out his phone, and we watched as his desk phone rang. She looked at it confused, but answered it anyways.

"Violet Industries, how may I help you?" she answered.

"Violet, sweetheart, you accidently triggered a lockdown. I need you to undo it so we can go to lunch, dear," he cooed at her.

She downright cackled at him. "Oh, that wasn't an accident. I did that on purpose, and now I'm downloading all of your files onto a thumb drive."

"Why are you doing this?" Aro cried.

"Think about it, Aro. _All_ of your files," she said with a sinister smile.

His face went white. "Violet, please."

"Let's just hope a fire doesn't break out and end up suffocating you all." She laughed and hung up on him.

"Vicky, he who must not be named, protocol horcrux one, now!" I ordered. Seconds later, an image of Emmett popped up on my screen. He was mid-bite of a sandwich.

"What's shakin', Brother?" he said with a full mouth. "Why are you hacking Homeland Security?"

"We're in trouble, Emmett. Aro gave his security pass and keys to a crazy woman, and she can kill us at any time."

"Why would he do that?" Emmett asked confused.

"I didn't know she was crazy!" Aro snapped.

"Didn't you do a background check on her?" Emmett asked, appalled.

"I know, right? But Bella seems to think that's not the way you're supposed to choose a date," I explained.

"That's just playing Russian roulette, and now you guys have the gun pointed at you. Background check, people," he said, like his point was made. I thought it was.

"We need you to disable the fire alarms. They don't spray water. They remove oxygen from the room, which would kill us. Not to mention she has the blast doors down! There's no way to escape," I squealed, getting more upset, and took another puff on my inhaler. This was turning out to be a very bad day.

"So, doors up and no fire safety, got it," he said and went to work on his computer. Suddenly, all the power went out in the lab.

"Was that you?" I asked hopefully.

"No," he said frowning. "Do you have backup generators?"

"Yes, they should kick on any moment," Aro said nervously. "Any moment," he repeated after a minute of waiting and listening to the dying beeps of my computer backup battery pack. "Any moment!" he shouted, like they would hear him and kick on. "Why aren't they kicking on?"

"Let me dig a little deeper," Emmett said with a determined expression.

"Vicky, search for electronic wavelengths and tap them," I ordered.

"Good thinking, Edward. Send me what you find," Emmett ordered Vicky. The only powered thing in my lab was the screen he was on, because Vicky was using her own power source to run it after my battery pack died. Finding electrical currents in a powered down building should've been easy for her, and it was.

"It looks like she's draining all the company accounts, should I reroute that money?" Emmett asked gleefully.

"Please do," Aro begged.

"Vicky, locate the inserted USB drive and delete its contents," I ordered, not wanting to lose all the hard work I had done to a competitor.

"Crazy girlfriend just uploaded a virus. The lab will lose everything if I can't stop it in time. Do you want to send a copy of the files here?" Emmett asked with a worried look on his face.

"Yes!" I shouted.

"It's got to be Aro. It's his computer," Emmett said.

"Do it, for heaven sakes, save it all!" Aro shouted.

We all watched in silence, as Emmett's hands rained down on his keyboard like a hurricane.

"Transfer of files to horcrux one complete," Vicky announced to the room.

"Oh, thank goodness," Aro sighed in relief. "What's horcrux one?" he finally thought to ask.

"The Department of Homeland Security," Emmett answered off hand and hit a final key, sitting back with a smile. The power kicked on, and the blast doors retracted. "Time to get the hell out of there, Brother, before crazy girlfriend figures out I freed her lab rats."

I grabbed Bella's hand, and she grabbed Vicky's. We ran for the exit as fast as possible, and Aro was trailing behind us. Mike from the lab down the hall came running out, and so did three others.

For some reason, no one but Vicky noticed a drone being flown out of the executive office's window. "Should I knock it down?" she asked, pointing to it.

The crowd that had gathered in the parking lot had grown massive. I pulled Bella a little closer to me, worried for her safety.

"Is everyone out?" Bella shouted over the crowd. "Do a headcount!"

She didn't realize that we were all very isolated in our work. There was no one who we'd know to account for. I knew Mike worked down the hall, but I didn't know the others around me. "Emmett, announce an immediate evacuation. Tell them it's not a drill," I ordered. I knew Vicky was still tapped into him, and he was still watching the situation.

My cellphone rang, it was him. "I did a visual video sweep of the building. Everyone but the crazy girl is out. Have Vicky shoot down the drone. It's carrying something she attached to it. Most likely a USB drive."

"Take down the drone," I ordered, and Vicky very calmly made her way through the crowd. She picked up a rock from the landscaping and threw it at the drone with precise accuracy. Everyone jumped back as it hit the ground. Police had just pulled into the parking lot to see it fall and quickly confiscated it.

"You can't stop me! I'm a super villain, I'm bionic!" Violet shouted from the top floor window. I was sure she meant it to be scary, but from ten stories up, we could barely hear her at all.

She disappeared inside the building, and Emmett let me know that fire protocols had been triggered. The few officers who had started for the doors were now locked out. Thank heavens, or they would have been killed. They asked Aro for the office phone number so they could speak with her, but she didn't answer. She went back to the  
window and climbed out on the ledge.

"Don't jump!" was shouted by several people.

Her response was laughing. She kicked her toes into the concrete wall. I shook my head, sure that she had destroyed the flesh structure I'd grown for her. The titanium toe bones stuck into the side of the building. She did the same with her hands, making me cringe at her destruction of my work. It was obvious that she was coming down on her own, so the cops pushed everyone back and prepared to take her.

She was still about seven stories up when she realized she wasn't going to get away.

"You can't stop me!" she shouted, and to everyone's horror, she sprang away from the wall.

She did land just outside of the police, but what she failed to realize was her titanium legs would act like spears, impaling her, stabbing up through her chest cavity, killing her instantly.

Everyone cringed away. Medics were called. Aro and I made our way forward to see if we could help, or at least identify the body.

"Do we need to redesign the product before we go to market to prevent lawsuits?" Aro asked callously. So much for loving his girlfriend.

I shook my head no. "You can use a different metal, something more breakable, but most people don't jump from seven stories high. Most also bend their knees instead of landing straight-legged like she did as well. If she'd bent her knees, she would've just landed on top of her implants, not been impaled by them. A standard 'bend your legs when jumping from high distances' warning would probably cover you legally."

What we didn't expect was for a cop, who seemed busy with his walkie-talkie, to suddenly ask for Aro to step forward. I was sure Aro thought he was just going to be asked a few questions, since it was his company and his girlfriend who had gone crazy. Everyone was shocked when the policeman turned him around and put him in handcuffs.

"What's the meaning of this?" Aro shouted.

"We've received information from Homeland Security of your illegal activities. You're under arrest for corporate espionage, blackmail, insider trading, illegal procurement of organs, illegal dumping and disposal of bio and toxic waste, and embezzlement," the cop rattled off.

Aro glared at me. "This is your fault!" he shouted.

"I didn't do anything," I said defensively.

"It was you and that man who tricked me into giving all the files over. You won't get away with this!" he shouted, as the cop started shoving him into the car.

"I'll get you and your little dog, too!" Bella shouted back, laughing. She put Vicky's hand up and high fived it. "Good work, girl. You, too, Emmett. This calls for a dessert buffet tonight!" she cheered.

The cops took down our names and addresses, Bella jumped in when they got to Vicky, telling them her name was Vicky Swan, and she lived at our address. I was worried about her being caught in the lie, but she was Vicky Swan, and she had lived at our address. Well, I supposed we'd get to take her home again, since the lab was shut down for the time being. The cops moved on to the next people, dismissing us and letting us know they'd contact us if we were needed.

I still was a bit stunned by the whole mess, but ultimately happy with the outcome. "Come on, girls, let's go home. I have a personality file to upload," I said, smiling at Vicky.

Bella jumped into my arms and kissed me thoroughly. Mike and several others wolf whistled at us. She pulled away giggling. "Let's go, almost husband, we have some celebrating to do."

It was that night that I learned what true celebration was…multiple times.

.


	30. Chapter 30

**Sorry this update is so late. The technology gods are still on the warpath at my house. I'm in Austin this weekend playing with Dollybigmomma, and she kicked my butt to get this chapter for you. Leave her some love!**

 **Chapter 30: Nuts from Another Tree**

Vicky's programming was reloaded, and her bridesmaid dress fitted. My mom wasn't happy that Bella was going to have three bridesmaids, and I'd only have Emmett. She wanted me to let my cousins, Marvin and Melvin, stand with me to even it out. In the end, I didn't see an issue with it, other than they were just as messed up as me. I didn't know how they'd do standing across from four beautiful women. At least I'd be the only one who'd have to do any talking.

With cousins like them on my mom's side, I could see why my dad thought our geekiness came from her side of the family. They were twins and only a year younger than me. I just hoped they didn't pass out if one of the girls talked to them.

As it was, they would be coming over early. I wasn't sure how things would go with them in the house. Rosalie had taken over Emmett's bedroom, and he'd moved into his lab. It really wasn't that big a deal to give up his room to her, because like me, he frequently fell asleep in his lab, too. He had just moved the couch out and moved his twin bed up there. Rosalie had some fancy queen-sized bed brought in. I guess she was a flopper. My cousins were going to freak, when they found out Rosalie Hale was living with us.

The latest tabloids had her taking a break from Hollywood after catching her boyfriend cheating. He had tried to spin it that she had cheated first, but she denied it, and Emmett made sure every news reporter got a copy of the video of Marcus and Dora the cheating maid. Everyone was firmly on her side, as they should have been. Marcus really was an idiot to do that to her. Emmett was having fun making him pay.

The doorbell rang, and I rushed to get it. "I've got it, Vicky."

"I'm programmed to answer the door for safety reasons, Edward," she said in a scolding tone.

I smiled at her and explained. "Yes, but I know it's my cousins, and if you answer the door, they'll pass out. That's unsafe."

"Shall I alter my programming to only allow you to answer the door when your cousins arrive?"

"That'd probably be best for now." I shooed her out of the room and answered the door. Melvin and Marvin were on the front porch with Aunt Margaret. They didn't live with their mom, but they had all made the trip together.

My Aunt Margaret pushed between the two of them and pulled me into a hug. "I'm so excited for you, sweet boy. You getting married gives me hope for my boys. Now, where's the lovely bride to be?" she asked, and I noticed my cousins hadn't made a move to come into the house at all.

I looked behind me to see what the problem was and smiled.

"Hello, Aunt Maggie. Is it okay if I call you Aunt Maggie?" Bella asked.

"Yes, yes, of course," she answered, pulling my girl into her arms. "I'm so thrilled to finally meet you. Esme has told me wonderful things about you."

Bella smiled, but then she excused herself and stepped past my aunt toward my cousins. I had been so distracted by her, I hadn't noticed how bad off they were. She didn't think twice about reaching into Marvin's coat pocket and shoving his inhaler into his mouth. As soon as my aunt saw what she was doing, she did the same for Melvin.

My cousins were settling down some, but I could tell they were embarrassed by their reaction to her. "Don't worry, guys, it happens to me all the time," I said, trying to make them feel better.

Bella gave them a breathtaking smile and pulled one of my inhalers out of her pocket. "It's true. I carry one of his on me all the time now," she said with a shrug, like it wasn't a big deal, but it really was. It was one of a million things that made her so special. She stepped into my arms and kissed my cheek, just proving how awesome she was.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you, too," she answered back, and I kissed her lips lightly.

"Lord have mercy, it's too early in the morning for that mushiness," Rosalie griped teasingly.

Melvin took one look at her and passed out. Bella didn't bat an eye, just called Vicky in to carry him to the couch. Marvin was able to stay conscious, but was swaying dangerously. Bella had him sit down and put his head between his knees.

"Are there some sedatives the boys can take?" Bella asked Aunt Margaret

"Yes, yes, or course," she said, fumbling with her large bag. "Marvin, dear, are you doing alright? Is your pill still working for you?" she asked and turned to us. "He had to take one on the plane. He was in the aisle seat, and the attendant asked him if he'd like a drink. It didn't go well," she said, furrowing her brow.

He took another puff on his inhaler and nodded that he'd be fine. Bella hooked her arm in Rosalie's and pulled her out of the room, I was sure hoping to give my cousins a chance to recover.

"They're lovely girls, aren't they, sweetheart. They seem very nice," Aunt Margaret had said, trying to comfort her son. He just ducked his head back between his legs.

I wondered if I should warn them about Rose not actually being very nice. She had mellowed out quite a bit since she had stepped out of the spotlight and moved in with us, though.

"Oh, Edward, before I forget, your cousin, Clemmens, sent his RSVP to me."

"To you?" I asked confused. It made no sense to send it to an extended family member several states away. Especially since he was a cousin on my father's side of the family.

"Yes, you know how he is about the U.S. Postal Service," she said dismissively, handing me a small rolled-up piece of parchment. "He sent it by pigeon. He and your cousins met years ago and used to correspond that way. He still occasionally sends notes for Melvin, even though he lost some interest in it when he couldn't train his owl," she spoke as if what she said made perfect sense.

"Owls are too smart. They have minds of their own. They'd rather do their own thing than deliver letters," Melvin said solemnly, finally regaining consciousness.

"He stopped because he was mad when me and Clemmens made up a fake Hogwarts letter and tied it to his owl's leg," Marvin said grinning.

"I would've been an excellent potions master!" Melvin snapped.

"And you are, dear. Isn't that what you do now?" Aunt Maggie tried to console him. Melvin was a chemist who worked in medical research.

He frowned at his mother and shrugged.

Bella walked in with a tray of cookies and tea. She always said a little sugar was good for settling nerves after a shock. "How are we doing? Would you like some tea and cookies?" she offered, watching the boys carefully. They seemed to be keeping it together.

Marvin whispered to me, unfortunately not very quietly, "Your girlfriend is hot. Is the other one…?"

"Taken?" we heard Rosalie say from the doorway. His eyes widened. "Yes, I'm taken," she said sharply.

"By who?" I heard my brother ask from behind her.

"By you, you idiot, who else would I be taken by?" she snapped.

Emmett had the good sense to look sheepish, as he came up to apologize to her. "I'm sorry, sometimes I think that…that…it was all just a dream."

"A nightmare, more like it?" she smiled sadly at him.

"Nah, it's all you, you're still healing, and that's what made it special," he said red-faced.

"Oh, you big idiot, you're going to make me cry," she said and flung her arms around my brother.

I had been so preoccupied with everything else going on, I had been a lousy brother and not kept up with how things had been going with Rosalie. It looked like things were turning out well. He smiled over Rosalie's shoulder at us. I had a feeling it wouldn't be too long before he was proposing to her with a "big ass ring and a prenup," just like she'd requested.

"H…h…how…did you guys get g…g…girlfriends?" Marvin stuttered out.

"By being their wonderful selves," Bella answered and kissed my cheek.

Marvin looked at us like we were insane.

I shrugged. "Practice and determination?" I added to Bella's comment.

She grinned. "Yeah, that, too. The important thing to remember, boys, is you're worth loving. The right girl will be kind and okay with helping you out if you need it."

My aunt pulled her into her arms. "Thank you so much for saying that to them. I always tell them they're handsome boys, but they don't believe me."

"You're our mom," Melvin said with a pout.

"Still doesn't change the facts," Rosalie said, shocking everyone, I think. "You're both pretty good looking guys, actually." Marvin looked to be on the verge of passing out. She rolled her eyes. "I swear, Emmett, our boys will only have play dates with girls. Our kids will not be this dysfunctional."

"We get to have kids?" he asked excitedly, and she leaned into his side blushing. If I didn't know better, I'd think she looked timid.

"Yeah," she said with a shrug.

Emmett leaned down and kissed her hard, ignoring everyone around them. When he started getting a little handsy, Aunt Maggie cleared her throat loudly, and both of my cousins stared wide-eyed and took another puff on their inhalers.

"Isn't it a bit early to be doing that?" Bella said loudly.

Rosalie and Emmett pulled away from each other grinning.

"Like you said, Bella, love doesn't have a set schedule," Rosalie said smirking.

"No, I suppose it doesn't," Bella laughed.

"My heavens, why is everyone standing around in the living room?" my mom asked.

"We're gonna have kids!" Emmett proclaimed loudly, squeezing Rosalie.

"You're what?" mom shouted at Emmett, her eyes widening and focusing on Rosalie's abdomen.

"I'm not pregnant!" Rosalie said, shoving Emmett away from her.

"What's going on here?" my mother demanded.

Bella was giggling. "They're officially a couple is all, Esme. Emmett's just excited about what that means for their future together," she kindly explained. It was nice that she seemed to understand me and my brother so well.

"Oh, how nice. Congratulations, you two," my mom said and pulled them both into a hug. Emmett bear hugged her in return, and Rosalie was her awkward self, but accepted the affection my mother was forcing on her. It was strange to think about someone growing up in a house where they weren't used to their mom hugging them. Mom was always hugging us and telling us we were special. It was what made getting through our teen years possible.

"We still have work to do. We have a wedding tomorrow. Come, come, people, we need to get busy," my mother ordered and pulled my soon-to-be wife, Rosalie and my Aunt Maggie out of the room.

"Mom's always stealing Rosalie," Emmett said with a pout.

"That was the real Rosalie Hale?" Marvin asked in awe.

"Watch what you say about my girl," Emmett said, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Whatcha gonna do? I know Karate," Marvin taunted back. This was why we didn't really keep in contact with them. Marvin could be a jerk.

"I'll erase your digital footprint. You won't exist, engineer boy," Emmett sneered back at him.

"He can do it, too, but I think it'd be worse if you just hacked into his work and deleted all his plans and planted a picture of him in his tighty-whities scratching himself onto everyone's computer," I smirked.

"Ooh, I can use the virus I wrote for Bella's mom, but change out the picture with Marvin's and add spreading code. It'll be great," Emmett said cheerfully and was about to head off to do it, but I grabbed his arm before he left.

"Hold up, Emmett, we should wait and just have Marvin promise to behave himself, before we do anything rash," I said, trying to coax my brother back from his focus of revenge. Technically, Marvin hadn't done anything yet.

"Will you promise to behave and not make any rude or inappropriate comments about our girls?" Emmett asked him harshly, as if he was ready for him to disagree with him.

Marvin crossed his arms, put out. "Fine, I won't say anything about your girlfriends. I still can't believe you got hot girlfriends. How did that even happen?"

Emmett and I both shrugged our shoulders at him. Honestly, it was dumb luck that our girls loved us. Thank heavens for that.


	31. Chapter 31

**Sorry this is so late. I had surgery and was out of it for a while. I'm fine now and will hopefully be wrapping up this story soon. Let me know if there is something you want to see in the upcoming chapters.**

 **Chapter 31: Gift Horses**

The wedding set-up was in full swing. I let my mother hire a wedding planner, so it'd take some of the stress off of her and Bella. I wanted today to be perfect for Bella. I just had to keep my hyperventilating cousins away from her and any other females. It wouldn't be good if they passed out in front of everyone, halting our ceremony.

Bella had been chatting with her friend, Alice, and told me she had a plan for the boys. Apparently, they knew of a couple of girls who might hit it off with my cousins. I suggested they not actually tell my cousins, so they didn't get stressed out about meeting them.

As it was, I was doing my best not to pass out or vomit myself. I wasn't too worried about Bella changing her mind. I was having a hard time with the idea of having to stand in front of a room full of people and speak. I wasn't so much afraid of the women in the room anymore. I knew Bella would stand by me no matter what, and what the other females in the room thought of me didn't matter, but it was still nerve-wracking.

Emmett, Melvin, Marvin, and I were all getting dressed in my lab. We were all struggling with our bowties, when Emmett suggested we look it up on the internet. I was so glad he was there to help. Out of the four of us, he was the only one who had any sense of calm to him.

Before we left for the church in the limo to meet the girls, we all took a sedative and made sure we had our inhalers on us. Emmett laughed and fist-bumped me. "We've got this, guys!" he cheered, sounding like a coach pumping up his team before the big game.

By the time we had arrived at the church, our sedatives had all kicked in, making me believe we could pull it off without incident.

Several people were already seated in the chapel. My cousin, Clemmens, whom I hadn't seen for years, rushed up to me. "I did a sweep of the building, it's clear. There are no bugs, you're good to go," he said, holding up a device.

"Thank you?" I wasn't sure what to say to that.

"That's what you think," Emmett taunted with a wink, and Clemmens' eyes went wide. He ran off with his device, attacking a planter more vigorously.

"You shouldn't have done that. He might make a scene," Marvin lamented.

"I guess it'd be best if we didn't tell him Emmett works for the evil government."

"Being the villain sounds cool. Maybe Rose will be up for some roll-playing later."

Melvin and Marvin took synchronized puffs on their inhalers, and I elbowed Emmett, so he'd cool it. I didn't want them passing out.

My mom popped out of where the girls were getting ready and kissed us all hello on the cheek and straightened our ties. "You boys look so handsome. Now, go stand up front, we're almost ready to start," she said, shooing us further up the aisle.

This was it. I was finally getting married to the girl of my dreams. It was all so surreal. I pinched myself just to make sure I was awake.

Aunt Margaret, or Aunt Maggie as Bella called her, came in and sat down in the second row, next to a girl I didn't recognized. We overheard her say to the girl next to her, "Oh, what lovely light sabers you have. I didn't realize fan jewelry could be so elegant."

Marvin did a double take and then puffed on his inhaler, distracting us from the girl's reply. Emmett patted him on the shoulder, grinning widely. "Settle down, Luke Skygawker," he teased. Marvin did seem to be rather focused on the girl next to his mom.

The usher brought another woman forward to sit in Aunt Maggie's row. "Oh, how lovely, my son is in Ravenclaw as well."

Aunt Maggie's words had Melvin doing a double take and puffing on his inhaler, too. Before anything else could be said, the music started, letting us know I was finally going to be married.

Bella was more beautiful than words. Her smile made her glow, and the closer she got, the wider my smile became, until I was sure it was matching hers.

I was lost in her, and then Emmett elbowed me. I glared at him, annoyed. "What?" I whispered back at him, but it was the clergyman who spoke.

"Do you take Isabella Marie Swan to be your lawfully wedded wife…?"

I realized by his tone he was repeating himself. "Yes, yes," I scrambled to answer, so no one would think I had doubts.

"I do," Emmett hissed at me.

"I do!" I shouted, realizing I had screwed up again! "Sorry, Sir, she's just so beautiful," I apologized to the clergyman for not listening.

He chuckled and continued. Bella didn't miss her cue and said I do instead of yes.

"I loved you," I blurted out, after she said I do. I didn't know why I had just spouted it off, but she didn't seem upset that I was messing up the ceremony.

"I love you, too," she said with her perfect smile shining brighter. I wanted to say it again and kiss her. I glanced at the clergy guy, who was still speaking. I was sure he was going to say something about kissing any minute.

Emmett shoved the ring into my hand and whispered, "With this ring, I thee wed."

I had never been more grateful for my brother than in that moment. I was sure I had missed the clergyman telling me to say those words. I slipped the ring on Bella's finger. "With this ring, I thee wed."

She did the same, and I gripped her hand tight once my ring was on my finger. I was never taking it off.

"I love you," I whispered to her again.

She jumped into my arms and kissed me. I didn't want to let her go, but she finally pulled back to breathe. The clergyman was laughing.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride," he announced clearly.

I didn't hesitate in pulling her back into my arms and kissed her again.

When we did finally pull apart, he stepped between us and said, "I proudly announce, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen."

Everyone cheered. I had never been so happy in my entire life as I was at that moment with my WIFE!

"You're my wife," I said timidly.

Bella smiled and answered, "You're my husband."

"I promise to always love and take care of you."

"The time for vows has passed, Edward. You already promised to do that, or shouted it," Emmett said laughing.

"That's going to be a tough act to follow, Emmett. Edward was pretty damn adorable," Rosalie taunted him, giving me a wink.

I couldn't stop the blush, but it was quickly interrupted by Bella kissing me again. "I love you," she reassured me.

"I love you, too, so much." I wished I could put words into what I was feeling, but I couldn't think of anything that could describe it adequately.

"Picture time!" my mother called.

We had planned to take a few wedding pictures and then go to the reception hall to celebrate with our guests.

"Esme, Padme and Luna have offered to help with our lighting and such," Aunt Maggie said, ushering forward the two girls who had been seated next to her. She gave a giddy wink to her boys, letting them know she was keeping the girls around for them. They both pulled out their inhalers for relief.

Bella giggled next to me. "Those are the girls we planned to set your cousins up with. Padme grew up in a family of Star Wars fanatics, hence the name, and Luna became obsessed with Harry Potter at a young age, when she realized she shared a name with one of the characters. Do you think the boys will like them?" she asked.

I nodded yes, because I was pretty sure they'd like any girl who was willing to speak to them. Hopefully, they would stay conscious for the conversation.

The girls helped direct and pose us, while my Aunt Maggie ordered the photographer around. Padme was shifting Marvin over, so he'd be in closer, and he started hyperventilating. Bella coolly stepped out of line and grabbed his inhaler out of his coat pocket. "Just remember, it's in this pocket, Padme. He's probably going to need your help with it later, too."

"So, this is the guy you were telling me about? He's way cuter than I thought he'd be. The question is, is the force with you?" she asked Marvin.

He nodded yes eagerly. I didn't think she realized he carried his own homemade light saber. It wasn't paper towel rolls, either. He was an engineer by trade. His was a real laser that could actually do some damage if refracted right. He had shown it to us. First, it just lit up, and then he hit some refracting button and cut the sofa in half. My mom was mad, but it was awesome to say the least. We had fire extinguishers all over because of our labs, so it was no big deal to put the couch out. His mom yelled at him about destroying other people's property, and that was why he couldn't have friends.

It was funny to watch someone else get yelled at for once. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one who would get overzealous about my work and accidently break things. Marvin worked for NASA and would sometimes blow things up…for work, of course. They had to make sure everything would meet safety standards. It was a cool job.

"Nice pin," I heard a girl say to my left. I think her name was Luna. "Is this the guy you were telling me about?" she asked Bella.

"Yup, that's Melvin. He's a huge Harry Potter fan," Bella answered her.

"He's really cute, AND smart. He was sorted into Ravenclaw," she said, touching a pin that was on Melvin's suit coat.

He was starting to hyperventilate with all the touching she was doing. Nothing too intimate. Just his pin and now his chest. She smiled and pulled his inhaler out of his pocket and held it to his lips. Apparently, she had been looking for his inhaler, and that was why she kept touching him.

"Melvin is a potions master," Aunt Maggie bragged.

"He's a biochemist," Emmett corrected.

"Same difference, very cool," Luna said, making Melvin smile.

As we wrapped up our pictures, Bella's grandfather walked into the church. He'd been present at the ceremony. Bella had waved to him after we were introduced to the crowd by the clergyman. He had blown her a kiss and gotten up to leave. I saw him grab someone off the back bench before he had left, but I didn't think anything of it. I just figured he was a bodyguard or something. Her grandfather was a publicly known and very wealthy figure, and that put him at risk.

"You _are_ coming to the reception, aren't you?" Bella asked, and I hated how a note of disappointment hung in her voice. She loved her grandfather, so that gave him power to hurt her.

"Of course, sweetheart, I wanted to bring by your wedding present. It requires a little work," he said and waved a guy forward. It wasn't the man he had left with earlier. "Come over to this table here," he said, pointing to a side table with flowers. The man with him quickly moved the arrangement to the floor and set a briefcase on it. "Now, this might take a few minutes, but it's important to get it done fast. I'd like to get this filed before close of business today."

"What filed?" Bella asked.

"Your wedding presents. I got one for each of you, but for different reasons. For Bella, I bought her Volturi Industries. She'll have the legal rights to her doppelganger, and also the intellectual property of Edward's reproduction idea, so you can move forward with your plans to have a family," he explained.

Bella jumped into his arms, causing him to stumble a little, but he was able to stay upright. "That's the best present ever!" I heard her cry into his neck, her voice muffled by his collar. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. I just need you to sign a few papers, and it's all yours." He motioned to the stack the man with the briefcase had prepared, and Bella got to signing.

"Your present, I bought for different reasons. I don't know if you'll like it or not, but I'm hoping it gives you some closure, even if you don't like it," he said, confusing me.

"I raised my son to be a gracious boy, he'll be grateful for any gift you give him," my mother cut in.

"I sure hope so, Ma'am," he answered and handed me another stack of papers, similar to the ones Bella was signing.

"Beyond Bio Labs?" I asked, reading the name of the company he was giving me.

My mother gasped, "You didn't!" and then she started laughing.

"What? What am I missing?" I worried.

"That company there, it's the one your father works for. The one he chose over his family!" my mother snapped.

That would explain why it might give me closure, I supposed, but I felt more ripped opened than closed in that moment.


	32. Chapter 32

**Sorry I haven't updated better. I have just been so swamped lately. I swear I'm trying to do better. I've already started on Chapter 33. There is only a few more chapters left of this story. Let me know if you can think of anything you want to see wrapped up or have happened. Thanks!**

 **Chapter 32: Family Matters**

Needless to say, I was stunned by the gift Bella's grandfather had given me. I wasn't sure what to do with it. I had the power to shut the bio-dome down and force my father out of it. I could make him leave behind what he had left his family for. I had never realized he had left us for a project, but from what my mother had said, that was exactly what he had done.

I couldn't understand why he would do that. I would never put any of my work above my wife. I loved Bella more than anything, and I'd never put my work before her or our children. It made me sick to my stomach just thinking about how easily he had discarded us. He'd never wanted us in the first place. We were inferior stock. Weak medical liabilities.

"I'm going to drive Edward and I to the reception hall," Bella said, pulling me away from the group. I didn't think twice about it, when she tucked me into the car and drove us home. It was only when we arrived that I realized it wasn't where we were supposed to be.

"Why are we here? Where's the limo?" It finally clicked that we were supposed to be riding around in that thing all day, too.

"I sent the family ahead in the limo. I thought we could use a break," she said, leading me to the couch.

I sat in shock, unable to grasp my father's reasoning. She pulled me into her arms and played with my hair, trying to relax me. "We don't have to deal with this now. We can put it on a back burner and deal with it after the honeymoon," she suggested.

"He left us, for a project," I said, stunned.

She cupped my face and kissed my lips. "I love you, Edward. You've grown into an amazing man, without your father. You didn't need him before, and you don't need him now. We'll be fine raising our family without him."

"Our family," I mumbled and looked down at her tummy that held the damaged organs.

"Now that I own your old lab, that means I own your intellectual property. You know what that means, don't you?" she asked me with a smile.

"We can have a baby. I can fix you, and we can have a family," I said, smiling softly. There was no way I'd ever leave my wife and kids. I didn't even have them yet, but I knew I'd never abandon them like my father had me.

"Yes, we can have a baby. We'll start just as soon as we get back from our honeymoon, alright?" she asked, pulling me up off the couch, and I nodded eagerly in the affirmative. I was ready to get to work on the project right now. My mind was filled with what would need to be done to get things started, methods to use, experiments that needed to be performed. I was going to have a baby!

I had been so distracted, lost in my thoughts, that I hadn't even realized we were at the reception, until we entered the building. A loud cheer rang out at our arrival, jolting me out of my project planning. We were rushed by several people, congratulating us and wishing us well, before the festivities kicked off. Rosalie caught Bella's flowers, and Emmett elbowed a guy in the face for the garter. He then shot it at Rosalie with a salacious grin.

"I'm sure theirs will be the next wedding we'll be attending," Bella said with a smile. I was sure she was right.

Things were going smoothly. I hadn't even thought of the mess with my father again, until I overheard my mother's voice from out in the foyer. "You shouldn't have come, that is that, now get out!"

"I was sent an invitation, I have a right to be here. I was invited!" a man insisted.

"Against their wishes. I only wanted to show you that the boys were better off here than where you would've provided. Now leave, I won't let you ruin Edward's day."

Emmett, the wonderful best man he was, made sure some very loud, distracting music was played, before he came over with Rosalie in tow. He put his arm around me and nodded toward the sound of where my mother was fighting with someone.

Bella sent me off with him and said she'd join me as soon as she could without people noticing. "You take care of him, Rose," she said, ordering her friend to look after me.

I took a puff on my inhaler, before I opened the door. I wasn't sure if I was ready for this confrontation. I was pretty sure it was my father my mother had been arguing with. The pair looked at us in surprise, when we opened the door to join them in the foyer.

"Is everything alright, Mom?" Emmett asked.

"Boys, I'm sorry, I was trying to handle this on my own. Everything is fine. Carlisle was just leaving, weren't you, Carlisle."

The man before us didn't look like my father. His once-light blonde hair was much darker, his skin had a yellowish tinge to it, and his blue eyes were dull and the whites yellowed. He was definitely having some liver issues.

"Boys, it's been a long time," he said smiling. "Congratulation, Edward, your wife is beautiful."

"And he never would've met her if he was trapped in your shell."

"Dome, Essie, how many times do I have to tell you, it's a dome!" my father snapped at my mother, and Emmett took a step between them. I joined him.

"It doesn't matter what you call it, you won't be talking to my mom like that," Emmett said sternly, and I nodded in agreement.

"Boys, if you only knew the truth of it all..."

"You left us," I blurted out.

"No, I didn't want to. I knew she'd never tell you the truth," my father grumbled.

"The truth was you put a project before your family. I'd _never_ do that."

" _We_ would never do that," Emmett corrected.

"You were supposed to be part of that project!" he tried to defend.

"I told you from the beginning that I refused to raise my boys in that shell."

"Dome, damn it, Essie, it's a dome, and you had no right to make that choice for them."

"I had every right, I'm their mother! They were just little boys. They didn't know what life was all about yet. They would've missed out on their true loves, and the world would've been worse off. Emmett alone has saved this country from five terror attacks and thwarted many more."

"Mom, that's top secret," Emmett griped.

My mother patted his cheek. "I know, sweetheart, but I'm just so proud of you, and your father needs to know that you belong out here in the world, not locked up processing recycled urine," she said, glaring at my father.

"You never gave them a chance to choose. We're slotted to form the first colony on Mars! Doesn't that sound like something you'd like to be a part of?" he asked us.

I felt Bella slide her hand into mine, and I smiled down at her. "Actually, I have everything I want, right here on Earth."

"The world needs Edward, too. That genius brain of his has revolutionized prosthetics, giving people back their lives," my girl defended.

"Not to mention the gene therapy he developed, which eradicated two forms of cancer. What have you done to better the world lately, Carlisle? It looks like your urine recycling project has failed by the looks of you," my mother sneered.

"You've cured two forms of cancer?" Bella asked, shocked.

I shrugged. "I had to do my thesis on something. Gene manipulation was a good topic. I use a form of it in my work now with my organ replacements."

"That's so hot," Bella said, pulling me down for a kiss. I loved that she found my achievements sexy. There wasn't much else that was sexy about me, thank heavens she thought my brain was.

"There are labs in the dome that can accommodate you. Being out in the world isn't safe. It sounds like Emmett knows that firsthand."

"Hiding our heads in the sand isn't our style," Rosalie spoke up for the first time.

My father glared at her and then looked at my mother. "How do you know these girls aren't just marrying them for their money?"

My mom didn't get to answer. Rosalie punched my dad square in the face, knocking him to the floor.

My mother laughed at my father sprawled out on his back. "Because my boys are great men, and they've met lovely ladies who know this for a fact. That's how I know they belong together." My mother grabbed Rosalie's hand and kissed her knuckles. "Thank you for that, dearie. Hopefully, that hit knocked some sense into him."

"Violence is never the answer," my father growled, as he stood up again.

"Yeah, that's not true. I deal with terrorist on a daily basis, and eight times out of ten, violence is the only answer to stop them from coming after us. Your advice didn't work against the bullies at school, and it doesn't work in the real world, either. If I can't cut off their communications, suppliers or income, violence is the only way to stop them."

"If you and your mother would've joined me in the dome, you wouldn't have had to deal with bullies at all. You would've had top-notch education in a perfect environment, but she refused to let me get you in shape, so you could pass the physical. You sabotaged everything, so I couldn't take the boys with me!" he shouted at my mother.

"They don't belong in a dome, they belong in the real world!" my mother snapped back. "You chose your project over your family's wellbeing and quality of life!"

"You gave me no choice!"

"You could've stayed, Carlisle. You could've left the project and taken a job somewhere else!"

"It was my life's work, Esme! How was I supposed to walk away from it?" he shouted back. "Surely you boys understand. As hard as you've worked, with the accomplishments you've made, you know why I couldn't just walk away," my father pleaded.

I shook my head at him. "Truth is, walking away from Volturi Labs for Bella's safety and wellbeing was probably one of the easiest choices I've ever made. She's worth it. My family will always be worth it. They'll always come before my work."

My mother stood proudly next to me, as my father's expression changed to crestfallen. He must have finally realized he'd made the wrong choice.

"You've turned them against me," he mumbled. "They would've understood, when they were younger, they would've understood the choice that had to be made."

"No, actually, I don't think we would have," Emmett cut into my father's rambling. "Work is important, but keeping my family safe and happy is even more important to me," he said, pulling Rosalie into his arms and kissed her.

"I love you," Rosalie whispered and kissed him again.

My father scowled at my brother and then looked at my mother. "Essie, please," he begged.

"You should leave, Carlisle," she sighed, pointing to the exit.

"Come with me. Join me, like you were supposed to," he pleaded.

"No, my boys are out here, and I know for a fact that children are in their plans. I'm not missing that, not even to be with you," her tone softened, surprising us all. "Why don't you stay? Are you truly happy living that shell of a life? You can't be, Carlisle. I know you. You need the excitement of discovery. That has to be limited where you are. You're already out, just stay out, stay with me," she cried. My father pulled her into his arms to comfort her.

"I can shut down the lab and force him to stay out here with you, Mom," I offered.

She pushed away from him and shook her head no. "No, he needs to choose me. For once, he needs to choose me over his work."

"Essie…"

"NO! It's final this time, Carlisle. Once you head back to your shell, I'll be filing divorce papers. They're long overdue."

"No, Essie, don't leave me," he begged.

"You left me a long time ago!" she yelled at him.

"You always had the choice to join me, you still do," he countered.

"No, I'm not missing out on my family. I'm not going to miss the birth of my grandbabies, just so I can garden and drink recycled urine all day."

"But my role is important!"

"There are a number of others who can fill your role easily, Carlisle. You're nothing special in there, not like you were out here. Please, come home," she cried.

"I don't know if I can," he whispered. "If I leave, even if they get a replacement, the integration of a new person into the environment…"

"It would've been the same if I'd come to stay with you. They would've had to adjust things for me. They won't have to adjust things as much, since they'd be replacing a person. Besides, don't the girls you had lined up for Edward and Emmett need someone? You could choose a couple of young men to take your place and benefit the project even more," my mother said, doing her best to talk some sense into my father.

I think we were all shocked when he nodded yes. "You're right, and adding two new individuals would be ideal for the gene pool once they settle on Mars."

"So you'll stay with us?" my mother asked, hope shining in her eyes.

"I'll need to line up my replacements first, but you're right. At this point, it's obvious my boys will never join me. I've become a hindrance to the project. We need to replace me for it to go forward with optimal results."

"You can still work on it from the outside," I offered.

My father grimaced, but nodded in agreement. "I guess my dreams of space travel will never come to fruition."

"Don't discount it forever. If your colony on Mars is a success, maybe we can visit," my mother said, trying to console my father.

Alice poked her head into the foyer. "Hey, I don't mean to interrupt, but we have a couple more traditions to check off the list before the lovebirds can take off on their honeymoon."

"Right, of course, come along, everyone, back to the wedding," my mother said, wiping her tears and shooing us back into the main room.

Vicky was waiting for us by the cake, holding the knife.

"Cake!" Emmett cheered. "I love cake," he said, making Rosalie laugh, and the rest of us joined in.

Bella and I didn't make a mess of ourselves, much to Emmett's disappointment. The rest of the evening seemed to go too fast. I spent most of it watching my father and mother interact. I could tell they still had a long way to go, but they looked promising.

We left the church in a shower of birdseed and cheers, and the limo took us to the airport. We weren't going far, just far enough away to be alone.

"We need to buy a house of our own, so we can lay around naked all the time," Bella said, stretched out on the bed in nothing but her birthday suit. I was inclined to agree with her.

"Okay, pick a house, and we'll buy it."

"That quick? I don't have to fight with you and lay out the pros and cons of not living with Emmett?"

I chuckled. "You had me at lay around naked. Besides, if we move out, then my father can take over the basement lab, until he finds something to do," I said with a shrug.

"I love you," she said, pulling me down on the bed with her.

"And I love you."

"I brought something for us to work on," she said with a smirk and hung off the bed, reaching for her carry-on. I pinched her butt, making her jump and giggle. When she made it back on the bed, she was holding a notebook.

"Since we can use your old lab to make a baby, I think we should do some research, don't you?" she asked and handed me the notebook.

My heart sped up, when I realized what it was. It was the book of positions and depths. We were going to have one hell of a busy honeymoon. "Yes, lets," I said and dove down, pinning her to the bed. "We have a lot of work to do."


	33. Chapter 33

**Send some love to Dollybigmomma for her beta skills.**

 **Sorry for the delay. I've been having a hard time finding a place to write lately and recently some bitch started guest reviewing my stories talking trash. I don't mind real reviews that point out discrepancies, but hers were just BS complaints. She'd read the first five or so chapters and then bitched about how it sucks. I honestly think Hotwired is going to be my last FFN story. I just don't need that crap in my life right now.**

 **Oh and if you're reading this JK, the reason Edward decides to run away in Mistaken Bondage is because his family is full of psychos and you'd know that if you kept reading. Though I thought them being mentally disturbed was pretty clear by that point already.**

 **Also, Bella still goes after Edward in Curious Girl, because, get this, it's a unique plot and spoiler alert, Bella was the one that sent Edward away to go kill himself.**

 **In Irrevocable Abduction, them having kids is not stupid, because Carlisle is a man of science and loves his wife, who is heartsick with the loss of her child when she was human. (she actually tried to kill herself) It'd make sense that he'd find a way to give her a kid. It really does add to the story as that's what saves their ass in the end!**

 **Honestly, people, I don't mind reviews that point out discrepancies or ask poignant questions, but just calling it stupid, crap and a waste of time is not a helpful review.**

 **Chapter 33: Moving and Shaking**

The last week before we were to return, we contacted a real estate agent and had her look up some houses for us. We decided finding one close to Bella's new lab would be best. She wanted to be close, so she could come and go easily, while we worked on making a baby. She had big plans for our family and our family name.

She insisted we change the name from Volturi Labs to Cullen Labs, and she thought that changing the name of the lab my father worked at as well would be good. She wanted Cullen Labs to be a household name. I wasn't sure that would happen, but then she reminded me we had a third lab opening up in less than a month. A completely new lab, full of new scientist and more innovative ideas. There was no telling what they would invent.

To be honest, I was a feeling a bit overwhelmed. I was nervous about managing one lab, and now we'd have three to run. Once again, I wasn't sure if I liked the gifts Bella's grandfather had given us. It looked like we'd have a lot of work on our hands in the near future.

"What do you think of a pool?" Bella asked me, pulling me out of my worries?

"A pool of what?"

"Water, silly, to swim in. Some of these homes the agent sent us have swimming pools," she explained.

I climbed on the bed next to her and willed myself not to get distracted by her soft skin and sweet scent. She had a picture of a backyard swimming pool pulled up, and I could just imagine her stretched out on a lounge chair in a bikini.

Then I noticed a few pool cleaning tools on the deck. Pool boys were notorious for being good looking and preying on married women with busy husbands. I blanched at that thought. I was going to be a very busy husband with three labs. I realized I'd never be home. I was never going to see my wife! When I was home, I didn't want her to see how embarrassing I looked in swim trunks.

"No, let's pass on the pool," I said, frowning at my mentally failed marriage.

"I agree, after all the work we're going to put into having a baby, I don't want to risk them drowning," she said and snuggled closer.

"Bella, how are we going to work on a baby and run three labs?" I said, finally voicing my concern. "Maybe we should sell them?"

"You dad's lab can run itself. We can make him the oversite guy who reports to us, but we can basically just leave it as it is. Just because the company changed hands, it doesn't mean we need to shake things up there. We'll do the same with Volturi Labs. We just have to find someone trustworthy to run it. With Emmett doing the background checks on all the applicants, I don't think we'll have a problem. As for the new lab, we can maybe split the management between the other two or get a third manager. I'm sure my grandfather would be happy to help you find someone to take it over, so you can focus on making grandbabies. He seemed rather pleased with the idea the last time I spoke with him."

I snuggled my wife and kissed her softly. She knew just how to take the weight of the world off of my shoulders.

"So, what size house did you want? We've never specified, and with the budget we gave our agent, she's sent us a very wide variety of homes. I do think we should have a yard, though, for the kids and maybe a dog?" she sounded hopeful.

"I'm allergic, but I've been getting shots for a while, so maybe we can borrow one, to see if I can handle it? It's kind of why we were making a fake dog."

"Fake dog it is. I want you to program it to play fetch, though," she compromised.

"You got it!" I said, relieved that she didn't sound disappointed.

"We won't have to clean up dog poop, either!" she cheered, letting me know she wasn't just trying to make me feel better, but she was really onboard with the fake dog. Now that we owned Volturi labs, I wouldn't have to steal parts to make it, either. I could do it legitimately. I pulled my girl in for a kiss. She happily obliged.

"So, for the house, I was thinking not too big, because I'm still the one cleaning this place," she said, scrolling past a couple of ten thousand square foot mansions. "You think the Realtor will be disappointed if we just buy a normal house?"

"All that matters is that you're happy with the house. Have you found any close to the lab?" I wondered.

"Yeah, there are three, and they're all very different. I honestly like the oldest home, which was built in 1901. It's really cool looking and not too big, yet still very unique."

The house looked charming, and we set up a showing for the day after we got back. The Realtor said she'd try to find a few more similar ones to show us. Bella was excited and wanted to learn the history of the homes we were going to see.

I was still trying to figure out how to break the news to Emmett that we were moving out. We had lived together his whole life and as long as I could remember. Moving out would be hard on both of us, but it was time to grow up and be a family man. I couldn't wait to fill my house with a family of my own.

Emmett met us at the airport to give us a ride back to the house. He made a few crude jokes about what we had done on the honeymoon, but he realized I wasn't fully paying attention, when I didn't get sufficiently embarrassed.

"What's going on, Ed? What's on your mind?" he asked.

I decided to just get it out. "We're going to buy a house. We're going to move out." I sat staring wide-eyed at him, unsure of what his reaction would be.

"I figured you would. Rosalie and I planned to move out, too. I was thinking we should leave the house to mom and dad. I was going to run it by you."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. They can keep the house," I agreed.

"Do you want to live next to each other?" Emmett suddenly asked.

I looked over at him and smiled. "That'd be cool if we can swing it. We were looking at older homes. Most weren't very big. I don't know Rosalie's taste in homes..."

"She'll want to stay by family, too. It'd be cool if our kids could play together," Emmett said smiling. My grin matched his.

"It's going to take some work before I can have a baby," Bella said, sounding sad.

"That's fine, it's going to take forever to get my wedding all pulled together. We plan to have kids, but we need to get a house, get married and settle in. Rosalie is rather restless, since she's not working anymore. I think I might send her to school or something, see if she can find something she enjoys to keep her from going stir crazy," Emmett rambled.

"We're looking at homes close to Volturi labs, since that's where my reproductive research is located. Do you want to talk to our Realtor? Bella seems happy with her."

"Yeah, maybe we can come see what you guys are looking at. If she could find two houses for sale next to each other, that'd be awesome."

"I'll send her a text to let her know to look for pairs," my sweet wife said, not once protesting living close to my brother. I knew they hadn't always gotten along, but I did know they cared about each other. I was a lucky man.

"I have to warn you, dad's not as cool about being out of the biodome as we thought. He's still obsessed with getting back into it. He wants to take mom, and she's refusing. You'll probably get an earful as soon as you step in the door," Emmett warned.

"Don't worry, I've already decided on how to deal with dad and his company."

"Are you going to send him back in?" Emmett asked.

"No, after some research, I found he was actually compromising the project. If he doesn't see reason, which I'm sure he will, then I'll have to fire him. Like us, though, dad's a man of science. He'll understand the importance of stepping down," I said, hoping my words were true. I wasn't looking forward to the confrontation.

Emmett was right, my father was waiting in the living room for me when we returned. I let out a sigh and pulled out the file box I had on my father's company and the projects.

"Edward, I'm glad you're back. It's vitally important that I return to the dome. Marcy, my apprentice, isn't knowledgeable enough to keep the purifiers running. I have the forms for you to sign, so your mother can join me in the dome."

"I'm not signing them, Dad. I've spent a bit of time going over the project, and you've become the weak link in the Biodome. There are two unmarried females who won't be able to reproduce, and mom's past her childbearing years."

"No, Edward, wait…" my father begged.

"You saved places for mom, Emmett and me, but we're not going. Emmett and I already have mates, leaving the two females without prospective reproductive partners. Don't you see why you're a liability now? Your returning, actually, will inhibit their further development in the community. I plan to pull you off the project and hire a new couple and two males to balance out the pairings and introduce more DNA into the mix."

"Edward," my father said, defeated, but didn't fight me. He knew I was right.

"I'm also scrapping the Mars mission."

"What! No, absolutely not!" he protested.

"I'm replacing it with asteroid colonization and mining. We should be able to settle the colony in about ten years if all goes as planned. I want you to oversee the construction of the ship. Can you do that?"

My father was stunned. He sank down into the couch and then nodded his head yes. I hoped by making him still part of the project in some way, it would make him compliant. I was grateful it worked.

It turned out my father had been holding places for my mom, my brother and me to join him in the biodome the whole time. With his official withdrawal from living inside of the dome, it opened up a space for four younger, aspiring scientists to fill our places. It also added four independent genetic makeups to the mix, meaning they could sustain their colony longer than predicted. Three men and one woman were chosen to take our places, and it evened up the numbers of men and women inside the dome. Talk about restricted dating options. Bella suggested we let the single girls who were already in the program help with picking the new colonists. I was fine with letting her handle that mess.

I was relieved when Bella and Rosalie decided on a pair of houses fairly quickly. I was getting sick of seeing my father pouting around at home. I think we were all ready for the move.

The old home that first caught Bella's eye just happened to be next door to a larger new home that was built over the foundation of an old home that had been condemned. Rosalie wasn't impressed by Victorian charm of the old houses, and so it turned out to be a perfect fit. Rosalie was able to have her new house, and Bella was able to have her old house.

I was looking forward to moving day. We had put off our reproduction until we could move into our home. We were both anxious to get settled in. Bella even contacted some of her old high school friends and had them agree to help us move. I told her we could have used a moving company, but she didn't want to wait that long. We were finally going to have a home of our own, and I was looking forward to it.


	34. Chapter 34

**Big thanks to Dollybigmomma for betaing this chapter. It's her birthday today, so give her some love. I'm visiting her for her birthday, so I have working internet and am able to update, Hooray!**

 **Chapter 34: It's a Wonderful Wife**

I had a few things at the lab to wrap up on moving day, but I rushed home as fast as I could. Okay, maybe I didn't, because the moving crew Bella had enlisted consisted of the bullies who had tortured me in high school. I was not looking forward to seeing them again, but Bella promised they worked for pizza. I finally made my way home, knowing I should be there to help, despite how I felt.

"This charges what?" I heard a man ask.

"Vicky, so be careful with it."

"Vicky?" I heard a confused voice say.

Vicky had been with me at the lab, moving some heavy equipment around. I had brought her to help.

"You should get your own charging base. We don't want to risk breaking it," I said to Vicky.

I heard the shout of surprise and laughed to myself.

"Bella, there are two of you!"

"No, there's only one of me and one of Vicky. Edward must be home!" I heard her squeal with excitement, and it made my heart flip.

She came running up the stairs, out of my lab, and slammed into me, nearly knocking me over. "You're here!"

"I am. How are things going?" I asked, and she pulled me down for a kiss instead of answering.

When we parted, she whispered, "Paul doesn't know it's not the real Rosalie helping us. She still has that gentleman teaching program running, right?" she snickered.

"Yes, there was no reason to change it. Do you think Paul will be reprimanded?" I asked curiously. Hopefully, an old high school bully would get disciplined for once.

"Son of a bitch, what the hell was that?" we heard shouted from our bedroom.

Bella giggled and pulled me down to the lab. "Pull it up, pull it up! I want to see this," she begged. I had to give her what she wanted.

Thankfully, my computer wasn't packed yet, and I was able to tap into Rosalie.

"What's this?" Sam asked, looking over my shoulder at the computer monitor. "Hey, that's Paul," he stated the obvious.

"Come on, we're in a bedroom, all alone, no one would know," Paul said, trying to seduce Rosalie bot, but she wasn't programmed that way.

"I don't know you. We aren't even friends," she said, and we all watched as Paul locked the bedroom door.

"See, door locked, we won't be disturbed. I know I can do things to you that'd make you leave that nerd you're shacking up with. They call me Magic Paul."

"No, they don't," Sam and Bella said in unison. That made me smile.

"You're going to love this," Bella said, pulling Sam forward to see better.

"You felt the electricity between us when I touched you. It was powerful," Paul said, revealing that Rosie bot had already shocked him once, but he was too dense to realize it.

"Paul doesn't have a heart condition, does he?" I asked Sam.

He shook his head no, not taking his eyes off the screen. Rosie bot kept on packing a box, ignoring Paul's advances. Paul came up behind her and grabbed her butt.

To watch him get shocked was hilarious. His whole body jolted stiffly, and he fell backwards. I could tell it wasn't her maximum voltage…yet.

"Whoa, what the hell was that?" Paul said stupidly.

"Don't touch me. We have work to do," Rosie bot stated efficiently.

"Right, work, you are a naughty girl. What are you hiding in those panties of yours?" the fool pressed on.

"We must complete our task," she replied.

"I'm feeling a little tired, aren't you? I bet you could use a break, too. Why don't you come sit down next to me?" he said, sitting on the bed and patting it.

"I still hold eighty percent of my charge. I don't require sitting," Rosie bot said, dismissing Paul's advances.

He got up and stood behind her again.

"I must advise you not to touch me again. I will not tolerate you interrupting my work."

"Dude, she won't kill him, will she?" Sam asked and then glanced warily at Vicky, before focusing on the screen once more.

"No, as long as his heart is healthy," I answered Sam, but I didn't know if that put his mind at ease at all.

Paul was moving closer and looked to be going in to grab Rosalie's butt again. We could see her glare in the mirror, as she watched him approach.

"Oh, Edward, give me her voice!" Bella said giggling, as Rosalie turned around in a slow threatening manner.

It looked like Paul was going to try and touch her boob. What an idiot.

"Keep your primordial pond scum paws to yourself!" Bella said, projecting it through Rosalie bot.

Paul's hand stopped in midair. "Bella?" he asked confused.

"In the cyber flesh. Touch my bot again, and she'll kick your ass."

"Really, is that a challenge?" he said with bravado.

"Give it a try if you don't believe me," Bella answered back.

Sam started giggling like an idiot. They wouldn't believe Paul would challenge a cyber being, would he?

"Give him the full voltage when he reaches for you, Rosie," Bella ordered.

I thought, surely, he wasn't that stupid.

I was wrong. He was that stupid. As soon as Paul made contact with Rosie bot, he hit his knees. His eyes were wide, and his hair was smoking by the time she let go of him. He fell to the ground when she released him. "I have work to do. Do not interrupt me again," Rosie bot warned and turned her back to him, going back to her task at hand.

Sam was laughing so hard he fell to the floor. Bella was near the same state, but leaning on me instead of falling down.

Sam pulled himself together and said, "Watch this, watch this!"

He ran out of the room, and I wasn't sure what he expected us to watch, until he appeared in my bedroom on the screen. "Hey, Paul, what are you doing on the ground?"

"Just checking for things under the bed," he said, casually patting his smoking hair.

"Let me give you a hand," Sam said, reaching out to Paul. When their hands made contact, Sam made a buzzing noise and shivered like he was being electrocuted. Paul actually jumped away from Sam, with a worried look on his face. Of course, that turned into a wrestling match, when Sam started laughing.

They rolled dangerously close to Rosalie bot's legs. Bella took control of Rosalie bot again, changing the voice to sound like a forty-year-old man. "Crowley, Lahote, give me fifty for roughhousing."

I wondered, fifty what, but my question was answered quickly, when they immediately started doing pushups. What we didn't foresee was Jasper walking into the room with a new stack of empty boxes for Rosie and Paul to fill.

"What the hell are you two doing pushups for?" Jasper asked, baffled.

"Coach," Paul answered.

Jasper looked at Rosie bot, and Bella made her wave hello. "We're not in gym class, you assholes, get up and get back to packing."

The pair looked around confused.

"No dog walking in the showers," Bella made Rosie bot say in the deep, manly voice.

Sam and Paul squealed and jumped away from her. Jasper threw his hands up, exasperated.

"Rosie, why don't you go help Bella in the lab downstairs, and I'll help these idiots in here," Jasper said, glaring at the fools. Rosie must have decided that was a logical course of action, because she walked out of the room.

Bella was still giggling up a storm, when Rosie bot walked into the lab. "We should send Vicky up!" Bella said snickering.

"Sam would know it wasn't you. He met Vicky a few moments ago, remember?" I said, hoping to get back to work.

"Party pooper," Bella said, but she kissed me, so I knew she wasn't upset. "Fine, but you're going to have to find a way to entertain me tonight when we're done here."

She must have seen my worried gears turning. I did know how to juggle, but I wasn't sure if she'd find it entertaining.

"Sex, Edward, I meant sex," she clarified.

I let out a sigh of relief. "That I can do. You like the sex we have." Wait, did she want it to be more entertaining than usual? "Should I juggle while we have sex?"

"Only if you're juggling my boobs. Just be your regular attentive self, and I'll be entertained enough, sweet husband."

"Thank you, wonderful wife," I said, kissing her and feeling giddy calling her my wife.

"Am I the only one working?" Jasper asked exasperated from the bottom of the lab stairs.

"Sorry, Jasper, we got a little distracted. Edward was trying to keep me on task. You know how difficult that can be," Bella defended.

"Fine, whatever. We need more tape upstairs," he said, explaining his sudden appearance.

I grabbed a six-pack of packing tape and handed it to him.

"Good luck with her. At least I know the bots are packing," he said, nodding at Vicky and Rosie bot.

With all of us working, it didn't take long to pack everything up and move it to our new house. Jasper kept the idiots working and their focus off the bots. At least I thought he did. Just before everyone left, Sam asked Bella if Vicky was dating anyone.

I wasn't sure how she would answer that one, but she surprised me.

"Yes, she is. She's dating Rosalie bot. They don't like boys, so don't ask about either of them again," she gave him a warning glare. He backed away with his hands up.

"I know better than to mess with them. I saw what happened to Paul," Sam said and waved goodbye.

I looked around and smiled. It was official, we were finally moved in and living in a house by ourselves.

"Naked time!" Bella cheered and ran out of the front parlor, stripping as she went. I followed, doing the same. I would never disappoint my wonderful wife.

We spent a quiet, fun weekend together, but it was now Monday morning and the first day I would take Bella to work with me. She had convinced me to leave the hiring of people for our third lab to Emmett, so I would be free to work on our family. I was scared I would fail her. I had seen her medical records. I noted where the scar tissue was. The doctors had said it would be pointless to try to remove it. The risk of further damage was too high.

It wasn't for me, though. I had the means to replace anything I might damage. I wanted to try and salvage what I could, before I replaced anything.

I glanced over at my beautiful wife, unconscious and strapped down on my table. She had complete faith in me, and I really needed to have some faith in myself.

I recorded my endoscopic work, carefully clearing what I could and made note of what I could not. One of her tubes did not look salvageable, but the other I was able to clear almost fully of scar tissue. It should be able to function normally with the work I had done to it. The uterus only had a small patch that might require work. It was nowhere near as bad as her previous doctors had told her.

Examining the small patch gave me a new idea. Her whole uterus didn't need replacing, only a patch smaller than a centimeter square. True, it was large when compared to the rest of the contracted uterus, but tiny compared to an expanded one. I took a little extra time examining the fibers. I would need to make a patch, so that portion of the uterus would be able to stretch again. It had some elasticity, but I didn't think it would be enough to safely carry a fetus. Once I was done taking my measurements, I woke my wife up to tell her the good news.

"I was able to salvage one tube. I don't think it's necessary to replace the other tube, with one being fully functional, but I'm willing to do that if you wish. There's only a small patch of damage on your uterus. I think I can repair just that portion and not have to replace the whole thing. I have what I need to start growing the patch. You'd be on bed rest for about six weeks after I implant it, to make sure it has adequate time to take, basically the same as if I had replaced the whole uterus. Are you up for that?"

"I'm up for anything with you!" she said, pulling me in for a kiss. I held on to her tightly, sure she'd still be a bit woozy. "We're going to be a family," she said, smiling widely.

I kissed her again. "I can't wait."


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N Sorry for the delay. I've had internet difficulties. I'm hoping they are fixed. My sweet husband bought an antenna and put it on the roof in hopes of boosting our signal. Fingers crossed that it keeps talking with the tower nearby and boosting it.**

 **Also, I'm sure many of you are aware, since you all are the ones that let me know, that** _ **Better than Pie**_ **had been stolen and posted on another site under the name Brotherly Love. To afford it more protection from thieves and also to celebrate Down syndrome awareness month, I pulled and published it. It is available on Amazon and Create a space under the pen name Rose von Barnsley. As always, with all of my published work, it's free for Kindle Unlimited users.**

 **I don't have a master copy with the original names anymore. People always ask for the Bella/Edward version, but I just don't have it as we usually compile all of the chapters into one mass doc and then make the name changes and do further edits from there. I'm sure there are bootleg copies around the internet somewhere. I suggest checking Facebook for more information about them.**

 **Now on with the show! I hope you enjoy this Hotwired Chapter. I have the next one kicking around in my head already. Fingers crossed hoping my computer doesn't die again. As Always, special thanks to Dollybigmomma and her master beta skills. I love that woman. 3**

 **Chapter 35: The Fine Print**

I was home with Bella, helping her recover after the invasive procedure I had done on her to clean out her scar tissue and assess what I had to work with. She needed to take it easy, and I wanted to be the one who pampered her. She had insisted Vicky could care for her just fine, and I was sure she could, but I wanted to watch over her myself.

I had Vicky hooked into the labs, so she could forward me any calls or important mail that might come through, but I wasn't expecting any trouble. Emmett had surprised me with his hiring choices, but I fully approved of them.

My cousin, Marvin, was so enamored with his new girlfriend, Padme, that he left his cozy job at NASA and happily took over the biodome project. My father was made president of that lab and was in charge of all of its oversite, but Marvin was the one who was designing the ship to mine the asteroids.

My cousin, Melvin, was in the same boat. He was madly in love with Luna and quickly accepted the job, before he even knew what the terms were. He was going to head up the new lab, which I had scaled back. It had a lot of resources, but only a small team of people. With Melvin at the helm, the new lab would be specializing in pharmaceuticals. He would lead a team of biochemists and their assistants in the latest treatments and hopefully find cures for some of the diseases that ravaged the world.

That left me in charge of my old company, which still specialized in advancing medical procedures. Thankfully, my old colleagues were very accepting and even somewhat relieved I was taking over. They knew I was a scientist and wouldn't require them to dumb down their requests so I could understand them. I think that was a pet peeve of many of the workers, because it took so much time to rewrite reports in a way that Aro could understand them.

Of course, when it came to managing the lab, I had my most trusted assistant do that. Vicky was the unofficial CFO of the company. In fact, she was the CFO of all three companies, making running them a lot easier. It just made sense to me to upload the information needed to manage the companies to Vicky, instead of forcing Bella to go to school to run them, like we had originally discussed.

That also left Bella with free time to pursue her other interests, which made her happy, and her happiness was all that mattered to me in the end.

Emmett and Rose had closed on the house next door and had movers scheduled for this weekend. Bella wanted to help Rose unpack, but thankfully, they insisted she rest. I told them she couldn't do any heavy lifting for a while, because of the procedure she'd had. Getting Bella to adhere to that was a bit difficult. I had Vicky helping me keep an eye on her.

Bella was a busy body, though, and didn't like to take it easy. I finally got her to settle down by enticing her with opening our wedding gifts. They had been easier to move still wrapped in their boxes, so we hadn't opened them.

I made a large pile of presents on the end of the bed. Bella had her notecards at the ready. She planned to write the thank you cards as we opened them. It was a very efficient idea. We were in need of the gifts we had been given, since all of the kitchen and bedding stuff had stayed at my parents' house. We were in need of everything.

Bella, my mother and Alice had gone out and done a gift registry before the wedding. I was grateful they had. The majority of our new furniture was wedding gifts. We had left several of the little boxes unopened, though.

"Sort them into the rooms they go in," Bella commanded from her perch on the bed. "This is decorative. I think it'll go well in the living room," Bella said, holding up a glass bottle.

It looked like a boiling flask from work, but it had flowers painted on it. "Who is that from?"

"Martin Carter?" she said, obviously not recognizing my colleague's name.

"He works at my lab," I informed her.

"Well, this is a beautiful vase. I'd love to buy another. Could you find out where he got it?" she asked.

I was pretty sure he had made it, but I wasn't going to tell her that. I'd just ask Martin to make another one, when I made it back to work.

I opened the next present. It was from another colleague of mine. It was a mortar and pestle. As soon as Bella saw it, she told me to put it in the kitchen stuff.

"But this is a lab tool," I said confused.

"No, it's not, silly. You use it to grind fresh herbs and spices to put in food."

I looked at her baffled. "Are you sure, because that's not what I use mine for."

"You're a goof. Why would anyone give us lab equipment? This is obviously a kitchen herb grinding set."

I wasn't about to tell her that we had already been given lab equipment, it had just been painted pretty.

The next thing we were given was a thermometer to measure chemical solutions. "That's definitely a lab thermometer," I said, sure of myself.

"It's a food thermometer to make sure your food is cooked," she argued. "Put it in the kitchen stuff." She giggled, when she saw my pout. "Next 'lab' thing I'll let you keep, but I need a meat thermometer, Edward."

I let out a sigh and handed her the next gift. It was a spool of twine and a roll of narrow paper. "Who is this from?" I asked confused.

"Clemens, that's your cousin, right?" she answered.

"Ah, that makes sense," I said nodding.

"This makes sense to you? Do share," she said, holding up the gift.

"It's for our pigeons," I explained.

"Our pigeons? Do we have pigeons?" she asked baffled.

"No, but if we did, we'd need the paper and twine to write to Clemens. That's his main form of communication."

"Okay, how about you take this for your lab. I'm sure you could use it for something," she said, pawning the gift off on me. I wondered if I could make a homing pigeon drone…

I was brought out of my pigeon drone musings by my wife's sniffles. She was holding a card in her hand and crying.

"What's wrong? Who is that from?" I asked, climbing up the bed next to her.

"It's from Charles Swan," she answered and passed me the card and its contents. I had been so distracted by my beautiful wife and my father's sudden appearance at my wedding, that I hadn't even noticed if Charles had attended.

"I didn't see him at the wedding, did you?" I asked her.

"Yes, he took a moment to congratulate me, when you were out in the hall with your father," she answered.

Inside the card was a gift certificate for guitar lessons at his store.

"You'd said before you wanted to learn to play," I remembered, not sure why she was crying over the gift.

"Yes, and I'm looking forward to using his gift. It's a good thing Vicky is managing the labs, or I wouldn't have time to take them," she said, smiling up at me, once again reassuring me I had made the right choice.

I gave her a quick kiss. "Anything to keep you happy."

Vicky walked into the room ringing, so I ordered her to connect the call. It was Irina Clavic. She wanted to take the long-overdue tour of my lab. I was surprised she was still interested in investing in my project, even after the mess with Aro. She was, though, and was eager to meet. Bella encouraged me to take the meeting, but then I realized I wouldn't be able to talk to her on my own. If I took Vicky, then there would be no one to look after Bella.

I finally determined Bella would have to come to the lab with Vicky and I, and she could rest on one of the beds there, while Irina looked over my lab.

Bella fussed about being moved, but only after I had insisted Vicky carry Bella to my lab from the car. She glared at me the whole time, but finally settled down once she was tucked into the patient bed I had in my lab. It was strange having a live person in it. Usually, the person in that bed was brain dead and had donated their body to science. Technically, Bella was the live specimen I was using, so it was fitting for her to be there, it was just weird to see movement from that corner of the lab.

The security guard brought Irina Clavic up to my lab. She had a large stack of folders in her arms, and her head was wrapped in a scarf. "Dr. Cullen, I know you thought it'd be difficult and costly to find women to participate in your experiment, but that's not the case. You were worried it'd be expensive. It won't be. I have several volunteers here. All of us are lost causes."

"Us?" I squeaked out.

"Yes, I see you've already started work on your wife. You can't give people a stronger vote of confidence than that. I'll be your second subject, and there are eight more here," she said, setting the stack of papers down on one of my tables.

I quickly located her medical file and flipped through it. She had uterine cancer. She was told to get a complete hysterectomy, but opted for radiation to try and save the organ.

"I have to have children, Dr. Cullen. It's actually written in my postnuptial agreement. Can you save my uterus?" she asked me.

I shook my head no. It'd be best to take the whole thing out to salvage workable DNA and grow a new one. "I'd need to make you a new one. We should remove yours immediately." My worry for her health trumped my anxiety, making it easier for me to speak.

A relieved smile filled her face. "Excellent, when do we start?"

I had planned to remove Bella's uterus originally, so I had extensive information for Mrs. Clavic to read. I held up a finger, letting her know to hold on a minute. I grabbed the file with the information and decided I had better make copies of it, since I might need it for my next subject. I also grabbed a release form, that family members usually had to sign, releasing their deceased to my lab. I handed her the stack and pointed to the release on top. "This will let me work on you. The rest is information on the removal procedure and then recovery time. I'll need to hire a nurse, since Vicky doesn't qualify as a second for exams," I said, motioning to her.

"Why not?" Mrs. Clavic asked curiously.

"She's a robot. She's busy watching over my wife, anyways."

"Is your wife a robot?" Mrs. Clavic asked a little nervously.

"No," I answered her, surprised she'd think that.

Bella made her way off the bed, despite my scowl telling her to stay in place. Thankfully, Vicky helped her over. "Mrs. Clavic, I understand your worry, but I assure you, I'm the real thing, and Vicky is just Edward's homage to my image. Isn't that right, sweetheart?" Bella asked me.

I shrugged. "You're beautiful," I said blushing.

Bella pulled me over and kissed me, then turned to Vicky. "Show Mrs. Clavic your wires, Vicky," she ordered.

Vicky lifted her shirt and exposed her insides. Then Bella surprised me by lifting her shirt up halfway. "I don't have wires. Feel free to poke at me to check."

"No!" I protested. "You're still sore from your procedure. She can't poke around on you."

"Fine, you said you recorded the work you did on me, didn't you?" Bella asked. I nodded yes. "Then show her that."

"Fine, but only if you go back to bed. You need your rest," I insisted.

Bella smiled at me and kissed me. She didn't answer me, but did have Vicky help her back to the bed. I let out a sigh of relief when she was tucked in. I quickly pulled up the file with the endoscopic camera and played it back. It didn't take but five seconds for Mrs. Clavic to wave me off, saying that was enough. "Did you not want to see the rest of the procedure?" I asked confused. "It was just getting interesting."

"No, no, that's fine, Dr. Cullen. I just needed confirmation that your wife was human. She is, so we're ready to be patients as well. Please let me know when you've hired a nurse. I'd like to get this taken care of as soon as possible."

I nodded and grabbed my phone. Bella rolled her eyes at me, but I wasn't sure why. I called Emmett. "Em, I need a nurse asap. Do you have one cleared?" I asked.

"Yeah, Bro. I cleared several nurses for Melvin's lab. I can send one your way. When do you need one?" he asked.

"Now, I have a new patient, so I need a legal assistant to be present while I work."

"I thought you said you needed a nurse. I haven't cleared any lawyers yet. Do you need one?"

"Not a lawyer, a nurse who's legal. Just get me one over here immediately if you can."

"Yeah, I'll send you a file of who's coming as soon as they're on their way."

"Thanks, Emmett," I said and hung up.

"Please sit and read those over carefully," I said, pointing to the papers I had given Mrs. Clavic. My phone dinged with a file for a Taylor Stiegel and an arrival time of twenty minutes.

"Mrs. Clavic, have you eaten this morning?" I asked.

She shook her head no. "I had treatment this morning. I can't keep anything down, so I just don't eat."

"Perfect, we can start today, if you sign the release form. My nurse is on the way. You have an empty stomach, and if I could get you to use this surgical soap and wash your whole body with it and dress in this sterile gown, we can get to work."

Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Of course, thank you, Dr. Cullen," she said, taking the soap from my hand. She quickly scribbled her name across the release form and ran off to the bathroom.

I looked over at Bella confused. "I don't think she read through all of the papers."

Bella giggled. "She didn't need to. She trusts you, Edward. Did you really think I read through them?"

"You didn't?" I asked baffled.

"No, you'd told me what you were going to do beforehand. I didn't need to read about it," she explained.

"But you needed to know the risks."

"I know you love me, and you wouldn't do anything to risk my life, sweetheart," she said and pulled me down for a kiss.

There was a buzz at my door requesting entrance. I quickly answered it. I wasn't sure how I'd handle having a nurse in my lab. I was doing better at speaking to females, but I still struggled. I hoped this Taylor would be easy to work with.

When I opened the door, my worry was for nothing. The nurse was male. "I brought my references and previous employment history," the man said.

"I've already seen it. You've worked in an OB/GYN's office for the past six years. You're currently employed with them still. It's your day off. I expect you to quit with them effective immediately. We're offering you double the pay, but you must sign a gag order and keep everything, including who our patients are, completely private," I said and printed out the employment forms. "Complete these, then take a sample of your own blood and submit it with everything to management," I said and pointed over at Vicky. "We have a surgery that'll be taking place shortly. Our patient is showering in preparation at the moment."

"That was the fastest job interview I've ever been to. Alright, I'm on it," he said and quickly took his own blood, scanned the papers over lightly and then signed them all. Why didn't people read things more thoroughly? I didn't have anything deceptive in them, but they didn't know that.

I shook it off and quickly set up my equipment. I wanted to preserve Mrs. Clavic's uterus as soon as it was removed. I would need the whole thing, so I could work around the cancer. Removing it was the easy part, growing a new cancer-resistant one would be the challenge. What would be the point in giving her a new uterus, if it became cancerous a few years down the road? No, I'd have to fix that on a genetic level. It would be slightly more challenging, but still achievable. I hoped she didn't mind waiting a couple of months before getting a uterus back. It wouldn't be like she could have used it for six weeks afterwards, anyways. I really must make sure she read her aftercare. People's general dismissal of information was just disturbing.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36: Full House**

Mrs. Clavic's surgery had gone well. I had also removed a few other tumors that had made it past the uterus. I had removed one of her tubes completely as well. I'd have to grow a new one. It had been so engulfed in cancer, that I ended up taking a sample from the other one to grow a new tube.

Her ovaries were okay from what I had seen. I made sure they were clear of any cancer. I was too nervous to remove them, because I had not figured out how to make a new ovary yet. They were much more complex. From what I could tell, it'd be impossible to replicate eggs. My best bet would be to try and grow an ovary and then transplant the eggs of the existing one into the new one. It was a challenge I wasn't ready to tackle, but I took DNA from the ovary that was by the cancer-riddled tube and planned to attempt to make one. If cancer returned to her body, it would be very possible that it'd effect that ovary, and I wanted a somewhat clean sample to work from to replace it.

My new nurse, Taylor, seemed very excited about my work. He was nervous at first at the aggressive tactic I was taking toward the organ removal, but once I made it clear that I had plans to grow new ones and replace them, he was thrilled to be a part of my research.

Since people had been so dismissive about reading things I gave them, I decided to read the aftercare and recovery information to Mrs. Clavic word for word before I sent her home. I would not let her just skim the material I gave her and then throw it away.

Of course, I realized I had gotten a little ahead of myself, after I had done the operation. Mrs. Clavic would have to stay in my care for the next two days, while I found a working pain regimen and made sure there was no hemorrhaging or infection.

It was odd, working with so many people in my lab. I felt the need to narrate what I was doing. Bella was used to this, but Mrs. Clavic wasn't and frequently asked questions. I finally made answering Mrs. Clavic's questions one of Vicky's duties.

I had done some work on eradicating cancers before. I was pretty good at isolating and working with the genetic material that formed cancers. It could be a rather long and complex project, but I wasn't trying to eradicate the whole body of cancer, just the uterus. Changing the genetic makeup of a uterus wasn't impossible, just complex. I really only had to change a small portion of seed tissue and monitor the growth.

I was monitoring the patch of uterus I was growing for Bella. It was going well. It'd be ready for transplant before Bella would be fully recovered.

"Dr. Cullen, when will you be ready to take on other patients?" Mrs. Clavic asked from her bed.

I startled and nearly dropped the vial of proteins I was holding. I looked over at her and then Bella. I really hadn't planned on doing more than just Bella, and Mrs. Clavic was a bit unexpected. "I only took you on because of the life-threatening cancer growing in your body. As you can tell, we aren't quite set up for multiple patients. Technically, I'm not even set up for one. I'd been caring for my wife at home."

"Have you looked over the other files? I'm sure I'm not the only one with a life-threatening illness," Mrs. Clavic complained.

"I wasn't going to look into taking anyone else on, until I was sure you and my wife recovered successfully."

"Successfully, as in we didn't die, or we're pregnant?" she asked, and I blushed.

"Carrying a child to full term is the best test of my work. Taking on more people beforehand would be irresponsible," I explained.

"But surely you could work on them and save what you need, and then do the final work after you've had confirmation. It'd stop some conditions from worsening and give you material you could work with immediately when breakthroughs are made," Mrs. Clavic argued.

She did have a point...

"Sweetheart, some of the women may not even need your services. You can do much more aggressive cleanings, take more risks than a standard doctor, and possibly fix something that others are not willing to do," my sweet wife encouraged.

"Fine, let me finish here, and then I'll go over the files. Could you please call Emmett? I think we're going to need another nurse," I said and nodded over at where Taylor was sleeping with his head down on a lab table. It wasn't his fault. I had worked him nonstop for the past two days. I had napped with Bella for a bit, when I knew Taylor was awake to watch over Mrs. Clavic and monitor any alarms that might be triggered by my experiments. He was as excited as I was about the work I was doing and hadn't complained. He had been an excellent choice. I could only hope Emmett could come up with another one like Taylor.

Security called me. "There's a Mr. Clavic here to see you, Dr. Cullen. Should I bring him up?" the guard asked.

I looked over at Mrs. Clavic, and she was smiling widely and fixing her hair. "Yes, bring him up."

I walked over to the door and waited for the buzzer alerting me to their presence.

They arrived quickly, and when I started to open the door, Mr. Clavic burst in. "Bunny, Darling, where have you been? When I got home from my business meeting, your nurse said you went to a doctor's appointment, and you didn't return! She was worried sick!"

"I'm fine, sweetheart. I finally found a way to fix everything. We can have a baby, and I won't die," she said and waved me over.

"Did he find a cure for your cancer?" her husband asked hopefully.

"Well, not exactly. Mrs. Clavic is cancer free at the moment, and I'm working to make her uterus cancer resistant, but it'll be a couple of months before she'll be ready to reproduce," I tried to explain without breaching confidentiality too much.

"He cured your cancer?" he asked Mrs. Clavic. I wasn't sure why he didn't understand what I had said.

"He removed my cancer," Mrs. Clavic explained.

"But your uterus was engulfed. The doctors said there was no way to save it, that you were crazy. Did my father pay them off or something? Had they been lying to us?" Mr. Clavic sounded like he was getting upset.

"No, sweetheart, settle down. We're in a very advanced lab. My uterus was bad, so I found someone who could give me a new one."

"Like a transplant?" Mr. Clavic asked.

"Sort of, but more complex. He's growing me a new uterus. Show him, Dr. Cullen. Show him what you're growing for me."

"This is very unusual, but since it's your wife who is funding the research, I think that'd be acceptable."

"You're Cullen, Edward Cullen?" he asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yes," I answered nervously.

"You wrote him a fifteen-million-dollar check for his lab?" Mr. Clavic said in an accusatory tone. I wasn't sure what was going on.

"Jason, he's developing a new way to repair and replace reproductive organs. I did this for us!" Mrs. Clavic declared. I guessed she knew something I didn't.

"You're not having an affair with him?" he asked her sharply.

"I'm married, that's my wife," I said, pointing to Bella.

"Your father is filling your head with rubbish again. He was the one who insisted we produce an heir! I found a way to do it. That was why I sold the cabin on Carmel and the chateau in France. I needed to be a part of this work, so he could fix me!" Mrs. Clavic snapped.

He turned and asked me, "Can you fix my wife?"

"Show him, Edward, show him my uterus!" Mrs. Clavic insisted, and Mr. Clavic flinched in disgust.

"It's actually at a rather fascinating stage at the moment. Follow me," I said, leading him to the growth room.

"Are you going to show me an MRI or something?"

"Nope," I said with a smile. "You see this lattice? That light pink coating is the first visual growth of your wife's cells. I've made an outline of sorts and put your wife's DNA on it, and then I showered it in proteins."

"What kind of proteins?" Mr. Clavic asked, sounding suspicious, but since they were basically funding the whole experiment, I went ahead and shared with him the formulas I had developed.

I was halfway through explaining the development process of stage three proteins, when he stopped me. "Is it too complex to understand in this format? I can have Bella explain it to you. She has a way of making it sound much simpler. The methods are new, but the science is…"

"Edward, honey, he doesn't want to hear about your proteins anymore. He was just curious about where you got them."

"Oh, of course, I'd gladly explain that and how I cultivate them if you'd like?" I said, eager to share my knowledge with my investor.

"No, no, that's quite alright," he said, sounding annoyed, and for some reason, Bella and Mrs. Clavic were giggling.

"I don't understand, am I missing something?" I whispered to Bella.

"We'll discuss it later," she whispered back with a wink. That made it all seem even more confusing.

I decided to check over Mrs. Clavic and get her ready to go home. There was no need to keep her here, now that she was stable, and her pain was managed. I had Taylor assist me, and Mr. Clavic stood brooding over me, while holding his wife's hand.

I worried about sending her home at first, but her tests all came back good. I read word for word the discharge papers and emphasized the importance of calling me if there were any, ANY, signs of infections, or if she just didn't feel right. I told her husband to not let her brush anything off and made sure he had my number as well.

I had Taylor help them out to their car, as I sat nervously by Bella's bed. "I don't know if I should take on more patients. What if more than one has complications at one time? I wouldn't have anyone to assist me in helping them."

"You have Vicky," my wife reminded me, and I smiled. She was right. I could program default instructions for when she observed certain complications.

"You're a genius," I said and kissed her. I was so lucky to have her working with me. "Would you mind helping me go over the case files? I really don't want to have to take on any more people unless it's absolutely necessary. If they have complications from something life threatening like Mrs. Clavic, I'll take them on now. Otherwise, I think it'd be best to wait until I have you back in one piece."

I called Taylor over and had him help me sort through the files as well. We made three piles…urgent fixes, easy fixes, and more complicated but not urgent fixes.

There was only one other woman who should be seen immediately by me. I decided to wait until I had the new nurse on staff, though, before I took her on.

"What did Emmett say when you asked him to hire another nurse?"

"He thought you weren't happy with Taylor, but I reassured Emmett that Taylor was a golden pick and to please find another who was just as good. He promised to get another one to us asap."

The next morning, the security guard called me and let me know a Nurse Rachette was there to be interviewed. I told him to send her up, and I was a little surprised by the stern-looking older woman who walked in the door. I took a puff on my inhaler, feeling slightly intimidated by her, and looked over at Bella, who was frowning at the inhaler in my hand. I wouldn't be able to work with someone who upset me, and she knew that.

I motioned for Nurse Rachette to take a seat, unable to get words out to welcome her. I sat across from her at my desk, trying to pull myself together. What surprised me was when Taylor sat down next to me and asked for her resume.

She raised an inquisitive brow at me, but handed it over to him, and he promptly set it in front of me and leaned over, so he could read along with me.

She did have a rather impressive resume. She had spent the last twenty years of her life working at a hospital, dealing mostly with patients recovering from abdominal surgery and childbirth.

"Her experience makes her a good fit, Edward, do you think you could handle her?" Taylor asked.

"Handle me?" scoffed Nurse Rachette.

"Edward, or Dr. Cullen, is a brilliant research scientist. He's really working miracles in here. He can be a bit timid, but that doesn't make him stupid. The question is, can you work respectfully with him and be kind?" Taylor asked, truly shocking me.

"Be kind?" Nurse Rachette said, like the words were foreign to her.

"Yes, above all, kindness is very important in this lab," Taylor insisted.

"To him or the patients?" she asked.

"Both, keep in mind, his wife is one of his patients," Taylor informed her.

"Isn't that a conflict of interest? He shouldn't be operating on family," she insisted.

"This isn't a hospital, this is HIS lab, HIS company, and it's HIS wife. She's very supportive of his work," Taylor defended me. I should give him a raise.

Nurse Rachette made a little harrumph noise and then said, "What would my duties be, if I took the job?"

"Edward is doing research on organ replacement, specifically, feminine reproductive organs. I assist him during the operation and then help monitor the patient's recovery and also help monitor the experiments he's doing. They have alarms, so we just have to wake him or call him if one of them goes off. That hasn't happened yet."

I finally was able to find my voice. "You'd have to read the discharge instructions, word for word. You can't just hand them the papers. People just don't read them. It's their life, why wouldn't they read them?"

"That, I have experience with. It's a pet peeve of mine as well. One would think the world was illiterate! I hand them the paper and ask them to read it. They swear they have, but when I quiz them on it, they fail."

"I like that. That's a good idea. We should have discharge quizzes," I said excitedly. "You're hired." I stood up and shook her hand.

Taylor seemed a little wary of it, but he knew I was a stickler for paperwork. I brought out the appropriate forms, and I was pleased when she actually sat down to read them. I smirked at Taylor, and he grimaced.

I was sure Nurse Rachette would be the perfect addition to our project.


End file.
